Unlikely Allies
by Natala
Summary: IYYYH AU. A group of demons and humans is thrown together in a desperate attempt to save the Alliance from the darkness threatning to consume them. The only problem: They have to learn to trust each other.
1. Chapter 1

{Author's Notes: Well....I decided to type out the first chapter of the AU. It's nothing like the first draft, and I'm not really satified with it. But if I didn't get it out soon, I might never have gotten it out. Some things will be similiar to the IY and YYH world, some things will be different. The characters are generally the same people, but obviously there will be some changes.  
  
Summary: IY/YYH AU crossover. A group of demons and humans is thrown together in a desperate attempt to save the Alliance from the darkness threatning to consume them. The only problem: They have to learn to trust each other.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha}  
  
  
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Chapter 1 - Graduation  
  
The cold metal floor ran beneath the standard boots of the newly graduated 'student'. Images passed by, some actually from a time period before the Barrier came down. And that had been almost 300 years ago. A wistful sigh emitted from the girl walking. How lovely it must have been to have been living in that era. Only a few demons except for the odd few that were peaceful, or escaped. No war weighing down upon the lives of people who should be living happily. No children were getting put into training when they should be playing on a planet's surface. No family's sobbing over another dead relative. And most of all, no duty weighing upon the conscious of one teenage girl, a duty that only two people knew about, one being the girl's older half sister.  
  
Blue eyes flickered with doubt as she went closer to the door, the door just as gray as the rest of the seemingly endless hallway. Here she would meet the rest of the team she would be stuck with the rest of the war, or more likely, the rest of her life. She raised one hand, pressing into the door, standing straight as she felt it measure her energy signature.  
  
An energy signature, the only safe way to make sure that someone was who they said they were nowadays. Too many times had the enemy who had designed machines to copy most other identifying traits penetrated various organizations. So far, it had proved impossible to copy someone's energy signature, and had proved useful to the Alliance.  
  
"You have been identified as Higurashi, Kagome. Please enter." A monotone voice, neither male nor female came from somewhere near where her hand was placed. She drew her hand back, stepping through the now opened doorway. Inside sat three familiar faces. Four chairs, more comfortable looking than anything she had ever seen in this building, were set up in an oval shape, a blue chair that looked like it was made from the fur of a Shante, a very rare and impossibly soft demon animal, was all that was left open.  
  
"I told you it would all work out in the end! What did I tell you all! I knew we would be together! Everyone knows how well we work together, we must have killed the largest percentage of enemy demons ever for trainees, and they know it! Even Kagome was put with us, and she can do well anywhere!"  
  
Kagome blushed at the blue-haired girl's comment, noticing that the rest of the room was oddly bare besides a single window overlooking the training ground for the youngest students, and a screen, shimmering with colors, as if waiting for something.  
  
"I hear you Botan. I suppose it was silly of us to doubt you, the all knowing One, eh?"  
  
Kagome grinned, turning, still shocked, toward a raven-haired girl, whose brown eyes were dancing in amusement. "Yeah Sango, you should know by now not to doubt Botan."  
  
One more voice joined in, her own gray eyes serious, her tone calming to the younger girls. "As much as it would be pleasant to joke around for awhile, I believe we will be receiving our first mission soon." She looked pointedly at the screen, which was beginning to change to a red color, warning them that a message would be coming soon. "Sit down sister, we were wondering when our fourth team member would come, and you were almost late." Despite the harsh words, the underlying tone held a tiny sliver of joy. She had missed her sister; it had been months since any of the three had seen her, and they had thought it would have been at least another year before Kagome graduated.  
  
"Sorry Kikyou, I was overexcited. It's been so long since I've seen any of you, I've missed you." Kagome settled herself into the blue chair, noticing how they all had a different color chair made from the same material. Botan, a light pink chair, where her legs were tucked up beside her as her pink eyes stared at the screen to her right, waiting for anything to happen. Sango's, a dark green, she had her legs in front of her on the chair which was placed in the circle evenly between Botan and Kagome. Kikyou, like Kagome, kept her feet on the floor, resting her hands in her lap, her chair was a deep red, and to the left of the screen. Kagome sat next to her in the blue chair, across from the computer and slightly to the left.  
  
Each chair was their favorite color, and Kagome was becoming suspicious. The four of them, four strong students, in a room seemingly set up specifically for them. What kind of mission could they possibly be going on, that the Alliance had done so much to make them comfortable? A sound of electronic static jerked her from her thoughts, and four pairs of eyes focused on the screen. A face appeared that all four knew well. A stern face with regal cheekbones, framed in dark brown hair. " Oh god. It's Metria."  
  
"Well now Sango, that wasn't very nice. Was I that awful of a teacher? I never did tell you my other job, did I? Well, I'm sure you can figure it out. I'm a rank 5 Demon Hunter. I was a Team leader from the moon colony, born in one of the few healthy sections left. I was called in when I was the only survivor of a mission on the infested part of Mars. They asked me to teach you girls. Not you specifically, but girls around your age. That was the only job I had. Now, I've been promoted. I'm going to be the one who sends you information on your missions! Aren't you all going to jump with joy?" Her voice dripped amusement and sarcasm, and Kagome grinned, covering it up with a cough.  
  
"Anyway, I suppose you four want to know about your mission now that you've 'met' each other." A small chuckle came from the woman. She moved amused green eyes to each one, resting on Kagome. "Besides the mission, you will also have to choose a leader, and I hope you make the correct choice."  
  
Kagome looked confused, while Sango, Botan and Kikyou exchanged glances. Yes, they knew what the right choice was, even if she was the youngest of them, she was the one who they trusted the most, and could find a compromise when they argued. Even when she was the one arguing.  
  
"I believe we've already chosen." Kikyou watched Kagome's reaction to her statement, a smile gracing her lips as she saw Kagome's expression. She thought they were choosing Kikyou. Her little sister had a lot to learn before she became a proper leader, but they would help her out. "We've chosen Kagome."  
  
"What? Me? I can't be-"   
  
"Understood Shento. Taijiya?"  
  
"I agree." Sango smirked at Kagome. The blue-eyed girl looked like she was about to faint.  
  
"Kelat?" Metria looked to Botan, who gave an apologetic smile to Kagome.  
  
"Yup, that's my choice. And it's a majority! Sorry Kagome, looks like you have to baby-sit us!"  
  
"But I can't! You're all older, more experienced, better at everything, I can't lead you!" Kagome was pleading with them; after all she had just graduated! She couldn't do this!  
  
Kikyou watched her half-sister and shook her head. "Calm down. We're a team, but you keep us together. We will make decisions as a team, being leader simply means you have a bit of rank over us so you can calm us down when we start being argumentative. You think well in battle too, even if not as well when you're in front of people. We voted, you're it."  
  
"Ahem. I don't mean to break up this touching reunion, but now that you have that out of the way, let's discuss where to go next, and what your mission is about. For one thing, we're bringing in four boys from Saghetra. We know during your training years you were all rivals, but for this mission you'll need help." Metria raised an eyebrow; Sango seemed to be having an internal struggle. That girl especially seemed to be against it.  
  
Kagome shot Sango a warning glance. She wasn't pleased at the turn of events either, but orders were orders. "We can except that Metria. Can you give us some information on out mission?"  
  
Metria gave them all a sorrowful look. "This may be one of the most important missions that we have ever given out. If you fail, and Naraku or Resurga get their hands on this object, then the whole war is over."  
  
Object? It couldn't be! Oh please, don't let her be the one to have this responsibility. She was already protecting it! She didn't need her friends looking for it when it was right beside them! She put a blank look on her face, much like Kikyou's. She knew her half sister was having similar thoughts, and her face was blank too, though she shot a brief look of comfort to her younger half-sister.  
  
"Your mission is to find and protect the Shikon no Tama."  
  
Damn.  
  
_~_~_  
  
So, it was this dream again. He didn't understand what his subconscious was trying to tell him.  
  
He was a fox, caught in the crossfire of Resurga and Naraku's forces. They didn't care who they shot. At least the Alliance attempted to see if you were friendly or not. Or they had, before things started getting worse.  
  
But then, almost 18 years ago, he was a silver kitsune, just trying to get away from a battle he had never meant to be involved with. He had been trying to steal powerful jewel. The most powerful jewel that existed. It had been rumored to be on that world, somewhere. No matter how strong the one protecting it, only a few had ever been able to completely mask its energy signature.  
  
So he had looked for it. He was not the only one. Both of the powerful demons had also heard the rumor. Then Youko had been shot. He had noticed the demon forces too late, and the technology mixed with their energy? It was too late.   
  
Shuiichi Minamino a.k.a. Kurama, once the silver kitsune demon Youko Kurama opened his emerald green eyes with a start, shuddering slightly. He could still feel the pain, see the trickle of blood flowing from his body. Feel the pain as his spirit forced itself from its old body and settling inside the body of an unborn human child.  
  
"Same one?"  
  
It was a quiet question, spoken in an offhand tone as if the other really didn't care, but Kurama smiled anyway, knowing he wasn't the only one who hadn't been able to sleep tonight. Kurama pushed some of his red hair out of his face, gimacing at how unkempt it was in the morning.  
  
"Yes. The one where Youko died. It started shortly before we received our new mission. At The same time the rumors started. The jewel is awakening from its slumber, and no matter who's protecting it, it will call to all of those involved. Youko was trying to find it, now we are reliving what happened because of that. I'm not sure why, perhaps he wants to try and retrieve it again."  
  
"Or maybe it's a warning not to. Because I have to say, I'd guess getting killed hurts like hell." The boy smirked as Kurama rolled his eyes, pushing the light cover off of his bed.  
  
"As crude as that was, you are could be correct Yusuke. Perhaps it was a warning." Kurama sat up; finding that Yusuke had already done so, and was leaning back against the wall next to his own bed across the room.  
  
"How long have you been up this time, Yusuke?"   
  
Yusuke shrugged, his black hair falling over his forehead slightly as it always did before he fixed it up in the mornings. "Awhile. Eager to meet who we're going to get as teammates. See how many of them I can beat up."   
  
Yusuke's customary smirk took residence and Kurama almost groaned as another voice interrupted them.  
  
"Like you could. I'd beat them up first, show them which team will be leading this mission."  
  
A boy in his late teens sat up, smirking at both of them, amber eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. Triangular white dog-ears sat atop his head, framed by long white hair. Yusuke snickered slightly as he remembered when they had tried to cut off the poor half-dog demon's hair. You would have thought they were killing him the way he carried on.  
  
"What are you laughing at?"  
  
"What am I usually laughing at Inuyasha? You."  
  
With a growl Inuyasha launched himself across the room. Yusuke grinned and jumped away, one fist lashing out as Inuyasha landed.  
  
"Hn."  
  
Both boys froze, slowly looking towards the one bed that they would have preferred the occupant to stay asleep. Annoyed crimson eyes met brown and gold. Inuyasha winced and Yusuke shrugged. Kurama watched in amusement, and then stood up, placing his feet on the floor.   
  
"It was time for us to get up anyway. I'm going to change into our uniform and then cook breakfast. Remember that we're landing today. And Yusuke, please stay away from any of the controls without someone else there. Remember what happened last time."  
  
Everyone, except Hiei, winced at the memory. That had been hell afterwards, trying to convince their teachers that they could go on missions, and the next ship would not explode. Hiei just glared, his eyes narrowing from the memory, and from being made to get up before he had wanted to.  
  
"Hn." The fire apparition stated again, his eyes flaring. His eyes briefly went to the sword by his bed, then back to the two teenagers, as if considering something.  
  
"Uh... Why don't we go train for a bit Inuyasha? I'm sure we have plenty of time before breakfast."  
  
"Yeah. Training seems like a great idea right now."  
  
The two boys practically ran out of the room. Hiei glanced around and smirked. Those two were so predictable. He had actually woken up shortly before Kurama. The fire apparition scowled briefly. How the human boy managed to get up before all of them was beyond him.  
  
-~-  
  
Yusuke watched the hanyou walk before him. Or maybe 'strut' was a better word. A door caught his eye and Yusuke grinned. It wouldn't hurt. It wasn't like it could really turn bad, how bad could his luck be? As he started towards the door a clawed hand grabbed the back of his shirt.  
  
"You know, a leader is not supposed to attempt to get all of his team killed off before the mission even starts."  
  
Yusuke scowled at the hanyou. "Hey! That was almost two damn years ago. Can't you guys stop holding a grudge?"  
  
"For almost killing us? Nope."  
  
The two walked on, Yusuke sulking. "Hey, how come we didn't get any info on the team we're getting? Shouldn't we know more about them? Besides, we're supposed to give some of those Ancient egg things to them. Aren't they supposed to only go to those who have something special about them? What kind of team are they sending us?"  
  
"Oh, stop bitching. You were swearing at your egg for hours after it took most of your energy. At least we know we have an advantage after we give them an egg. That's if the egg accepts them. Maybe the Alliance Congress is wrong," Inuyasha said.  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes but was silent. The Alliance was almost never wrong, and wouldn't admit it when they were.  
~_~_~  
  
The general mood in the Council Room, as it had been designated long ago, was everything from fear to a murderous rage. Only a three people in the room were calm. One was a demon, who was getting faintly annoyed; though he was overall amused. Another was an exasperated human man, wanting to get back to the problem at hand. The other was a short women, who had pink hair and was presently standing up with her arms crossed.  
  
"If you _children _could calm down, perhaps we could actually get somewhere."  
  
"You should talk! It's your fault this is happening! The freedom of the human race and most of the demons has been placed in the hands of a bunch of kids!"  
  
"Never mind they're the strongest warriors we've had for almost a century."  
  
"Except you. _You _could have solved the problem, _you_ could have destroyed Naraku, _you_-"  
  
"Would've have died, and taken the human race with her. There is a reason those eight were sent. One of them has what Naraku and Resurga want, and what could also set things right in the world again."  
  
"He is right. Even then, I would have needed help. They have each other. I trained one of them myself, even if he is a dimwit."  
  
"That could describe either of those two Genkai. Your student or my half brother." The demon, white hair trailing down almost to the floor, raised one elegant eyebrow above his amber eyes. "I wish he would grow up."  
  
"Please, let's keep the comments on the students to ourselves. What's done has been done." The human man had dark blue eyes and raven hair cut right below his ears, and right now those blue eyes were showing all the exasperation and annoyance he felt.  
  
"And I suppose you are totally impartial to this, Tenashu?"  
  
The man shifted uncomfortably, giving the demon a glare. "Sesshoumaru, I have no idea what you're trying to insinuate, but-"  
  
"One of those is your heir. One of those 'kids' that was sent on the mission to find the Shikon no Tama, has the jewel. One of them is your child. That is what I am trying to insinuate." Sesshoumaru's usually emotionless face held the slightest smirked; he loved to do that to the man. He was better at finding out secrets than anyone else on the 'Congress'. Some Congress, most of them hadn't even been elected. At least, not by the normal means.  
  
"Is this true? Is that why you allowed this to go on? How could you do this, putting the jewel directly into the line of fire? That team will be the target of Naraku and Resurga once they find out that they too are after the jewel." This was said by the representative of the Northern moon colony. When the Moon colony had been split in their opinions, they had split into two different nations, two governments. The South and North almost never agreed anymore, and sometimes took the opposite side simply out of spite.   
  
"Do you really think I would have allowed it if it put my child in danger? My child is safer with the seven other teenagers than she ever could be locked up on Earth, or Mars, or even Jetrak Space Station. I would not have allowed the Shikon to be passed on when the child was born if I had not believed it could be protected." Tenashu shot a vicious glance at Sesshoumaru; he would find some way to get back at the Taiyoukai for this.  
  
Genkai cleared her throat. "Listen up. We already sent them on their way. Besides, eventually there will be sixteen of them. We sent them the 10 Ancient eggs."  
  
The room erupted in chaos again, this time mostly panic. "No!"  
  
"You couldn't have!"  
  
"If any of them turn traitor, we will all be destroyed!"  
  
"There's a reason most of those died out!"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Everyone quieted down, surprised at the outburst from the usually calm and collected Tenashu.   
  
"Morons. It's either we try and have them bond the ones who could save us, or they eventually fall into the hands of the enemy forces. Damn it, if even a little bit of that prophecy is correct, we had to send them those eggs! Or face the destruction of all we have built! It was bad enough that the barrier that separated the two worlds was broken, but it will be worse if they get there hands on the jewel, and the one who can control it." Tenashu's eyes were flashing, and he was practically glowing with the spiritual powers he had rarely used.  
  
"Calm down. Your child will be fine. Whichever one it is." Genkai looked suspiciously down at the holograms and records of the children, trying to find which one was his.   
  
"Tenashu is right. He himself confirmed the prophecy when he became a Prophet," Sesshoumaru added.  
  
"There's no Prophet in that group though, nor a Maker." Jetrak's representative stated.  
  
"The Maker will come later. There is a Prophet however. One of the girls." Tenashu grinned at the shocked faces.  
  
"A Prophet, a Maker, the Guardian, and the Controller. All the rest have their own duties. Accept it. The fate of this war rests on the shoulders of eight teenagers, and few yet to come," he finished.  
  
"We're all going to die." Sesshoumaru stated dryly.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Author Note: Well, there's the first chapter. I know, a lot of things I have to explain. A thing about the eggs, before anybody starts guessing, they aren't really like the Spirit Beasts in Yu Yu Hakusho. But their are some similiarities. As for pairings, no voting. I have them already. Believe me, I have this handwritten a few chapters ahead, and have a few pages of notes. You think I wouldn't have chosen the pairings myself? Bah! As for what they are....*grins* Guess. Well, two people out there already know. The rest of you, if you do guess, I will tell you if you are right.


	2. Chapter 2

Diane Kinsman  
AU Fan fiction

Unlikely Allies

Chapter 2 - Black is a great color!

Botan stared down at the food suspiciously. She looked up at the girl who had cooked it, then down again at the food. She looked over to the blue-eyed girl across the table.

"Kagome, I know you love your sister, so maybe this is ok for you, but do you really have to have the rest of us eat her cooking?"

Kikyou frowned. There was nothing wrong with her cooking. Ok, so maybe it was a little too...blackened. But black was a great color. _'I never complain about her cooking.'_

Kikyou slid into her seat gracefully watching as Kagome rolled her eyes. "Botan, I said we would take shifts. No one is forcing you to eat."

Three of the girls were presently seating down at the table set outside the kitchen part of the ship. Not a large kitchen, and neither was the space the table was in. Kagome and Botan sat opposite each other, and Kikyou sat on the left side of the table, now frowning across from her, where Sango should have been.

"I suppose she dislikes my cooking to," Kikyou said, her eyes hardening a bit. If Kagome didn't know her sister any better, she would have sworn that Kikyou was pouting.

"No, I just went to bed late. Wanted to be there when the moon was first in sight. Most people don't get to see Europa. Not many humans anyway, outside of people like us. Has nothing to do with who was cooking breakfast." Sango came in, talking through a yawn and sitting down to mechanically eat the food in front of her.

"You have to wonder how they did it. One of the things we lost when the barrier fell. The way to terra form the planets and moon," Kagome said.

Botan shrugged, waving one hand towards the window where Jupiter and its moon were. "Well, they simply made Jupiter a bit more like a low mass sun, that's all. I don't know how, but they did tell us that, remember? I believe in History class, they explained that the theory was that our ancestors from before the Barrier fell made Jupiter into a star. Or almost into one. It doesn't have enough of a pull to misplace the other planets, but it did warm up it's own moon, and then they terra formed it. Still has an atmospheric bubble just incase though."

As Botan finished up, two open mouth stares and one startled on were directed her way. "What? I can't pay attention? I liked History!"

"Probably because you were better at it than everyone else." Kikyou said, slightly angry that she had not remembered that.

"Or maybe she was better at it because she liked it, not the other way around." Kagome smiled at Botan.

"Sometimes it was like I had actually been there, and had seen in. Silly me, but I have the weirdest daydreams." Botan giggled, Kagome joining in, glancing out the window to see how close they were. And immediately jumped up.

"Oops! Time to get ready girls, by the look out the window we'll be landing in about five minutes. Be thankful it's on autopilot. Makes the whole trip a lot easier. Come on, time to load up our hovercraft."

Kagome ran out of the room, the other three girls staring blankly out the window for a moment.

"I see. I believe that translates to 'We're here'." Kikyou stood up, walking briskly after Kagome. Botan and Sango exchanged confused glances, then as one looked out the window to see the fast approaching clouds of Europa. There was a sudden scramble for the door as their still sleepy brains stirred, telling them why the two sisters were gone.

The round vehicle slowly lowered to the ground as the four girls turned it off, scrambling out and looking around. "There's no one here."

Botan looked disappointed. "I wanted to see if any of them were cute. Four boys, at least one is bound to be cute, right?"

Kagome turned away from Botan, pretending to study the clearing they were in as she rolled her eyes. "They're probably just late. Let's set up our base camp. It looks pretty clear. Except for the two rather large demon energy signatures and one small one. Kitsune I believe. I guess we should clear them out, huh?" She gave a bright smile, unpacking her weapons from the back half of the hover car.

Sango rolled her eyes as the miko sisters took out their bows, Kikyou's was old fashioned and having none of the perks the modern bows did. Kagome's 'folded' as some said, into a more pack able package, which was about as far into getting a high tech bow the younger miko would get. Both refused to get the auto-targeting bows, insisting it was cheating.

Not that Sango could talk; her weapon was in the true tradition of her family, made from a demon's bone. It was why her family had the last name they did, because it was what they had once been, even before the barrier fell. What they still were.

Sango pulled out her giant boomerang, strapping it to her back, and flipping Botan's katana to her. The blue-haired girl grimaced. "I don't see why you three insist I have this along. I'll stick with our guns thank you very much. They're good enough for me."

Sango gritted her teeth. Were they always going to have this argument? "It's always good to have a back up. We know you aren't as good a fighter as the rest of us; you're more the healer of the group, just like I'm mainly the fighter. Can we not have this argument again?"

Sango ended on an annoyed note, causing the other three to exchange glances. She usually didn't get this annoyed. Kikyou frowned, then sighed. 'They would not pair us with another team if they didn't think it was necessary you know. Teams with both men and women are rare lately, so the others will be strong enough to hold their own."

"I didn't say anything about the other team, now did I?" Sango asked, turning her face away. Kagome shook her head; she knew what was going on now.

"Don't worry Sango, he's not on the team, you won't have to deal with him. He actually has a less risky job than we do. Takes information and messages that can't be sent over the channels. He's a courier." A second later the other girls rounded on her.

"Kagome, how would you know? You didn't hack into the database again did you?" Botan asked, disappointment with her friend running across her face. Kagome squirmed with guilt and embarrassment.

"Sorry! I couldn't help it. It was mocking me!" Kagome blushed, realizing how stupid that sounded as the others exchanged amused glances.

"All right, enough picking on Kagome, if we all have our weapons, let's go have a little warm up fight while we wait for the other half of our team," Kagome said, her expression changing from the carefree blush and open expression to a firmer, more commanding look.

Hanging in a holster by their sides, along with their other weapons, each had a strange looking gun. The trigger was a simple button that could only be activated when demons were in the area. The gun itself was smooth and silver, the traditional right angle connecting the barrel to the grip. Besides the strange smoothness and the button trigger, the gun didn't look like anything special.

The two mikos led the way, heading into a wooded area around the camp. Kagome suddenly stiffened as they got closer and began running. "Kagome? What's wrong?" Sango started running to catch up, her expression clearly worried.

"The kitsune demon... I can sense it now, that kitsune's only a child!" Kagome's pace sped up, her bow unfolding into her hands, and she notched one arrow as they came to where the demon were standing. Well, actually, one was curled up in a little ball, and the other two were floating in the air. Before the other three had even arrived the arrow was let loose, heading towards the ugly one of the two, a fat demon who only had three strands of hair.

The unexpected arrow hit the demon in its forehead, causing it to topple to the ground. The other demon's glowing red eyes focused on the threat, and Kagome was slightly startled. _'Damn it, why are so many demons cute? I thought they both would've been ugly!'_

Sango arrived to see the body of the first demon hitting the ground. Well, it looked pretty dead to her. _'Kagome must have been pretty mad to kill it so quickly.'_

The curled up demon lifted its head, and Kagome gasped, seeing bright green eyes from underneath messy red hair. "How adorable!" she shouted, forgetting the angry black-haired, red-eyed demon that looked ready to kill her. The small child demon looked surprised as he was gathered into the arms of the teenager he had just seen kill one of his tormenters.

"Huh?" Was the child's clever question. Kikyou and Botan arrived on the scene, Kikyou also having an arrow notched. The demon growled at his four opponents, glancing down at his dead companion.

"You bitch! You killed my brother Manten. Now I, Hiten, will take revenge and destroy you, that kit, and all of your companions!" The demon gave a roar, lifting up his weapon and aiming it towards the ground. Kikyou lifted her bow and pulled back the string, narrowing her eyes in concentration. Hiten sneered.

"You think I don't know how to dodge? You're little piece of wood will do nothing to me. Your murdering companion had a lucky shot." His weapon began to glow as Sango drew her boomerang back to throw and Botan's gun came up, pointing at the demon. As one, all three let their weapons fly. Or shoot in the case of Botan, whose gun shot out a bright stream of gold energy.

Hiten could indeed dodge, and swooped underneath the three weapons, chuckling as they flew over him. He stopped chuckling when Sango's boomerang came flying back, clipping the top of his head. He was stunned briefly and fell to the ground with a look of surprise.

Kagome quickly put the child demon down, wincing at her stupidity. After all her training she had still turned her back to the enemy. Another arrow was let loose towards the demon at the same time as Kikyou shot. Hiten managed to dodge them, snarling as he tried to shake himself out of his stupor. He shot at them with his weapon, attempting to distract them. The fiery wheels began taking to the air again when a stream of energy hit his chest at the same time as a boomerang crushed his body.

The girls were silent as Kikyou approached the demon, touching him with one hand. "He's dead. The clip on the back of his head was deeper than I thought. Interesting. I wonder what kind of demon he is?"

"Thunder and Lightning." Sango and the demon child said at the same time. "He's one of the famous Thunder Brothers. I can't believe you defeated them so easily. I wanted revenge. They- they killed my father." He began sobbing, and both Botan and Kagome gave little gasps of surprise.

Kagome swept him back into her arms, trying her best to comfort him. The other three approached and Kikyou frowned in disapproval. "Are you sure you should be doing that Kagome? He is a demon."

Botan studied the demon, as did Sango, and Botan shook her head. "He's a kitsune Kikyou. Trickster's to be sure, but most of the time they're one of the more peaceful types of demons. They do fight back however, and some of the most amusing punishments have come from their tricks." Botan winced as she spoke, most of her weight resting on one leg.

Kagome noticed the favoring of one leg, and glanced over to where Botan had been standing, seeing a small dent in the ground where Hiten had hit with his energy. She frowned at Botan. "How badly are you hurt?"

Botan sighed, drat that observant girl. "Just my leg. We know how to dodge better than an untrained demon like him. He had a lot of energy, but no control over it." She glanced at the kitsune who was staring at them all with wide nervous eyes. "What's your name?"

"My name's Shippo. Who are you people? Are you from one of the fighting groups?"

Kagome grinned, petting at his tail as he snuggled into her arms. "Actually we are. We're the team sent to protect the Shikon no Tama."

"Why did we let him have the map?"

"Hey! I didn't here you complaining about it earlier!" Inuyasha growled out at Yusuke's question. It wasn't like he'd meant them to get lost!

"I didn't know you were holding the map upside down! We're never going to get on with our mission if we can't even find the other team!" Behind them, Kurama rolled his eyes. Those two never stopped fighting.

"Demons nearby," Hiei stated, turning the attention towards him. Hiei simply stared at them for a moment, before all of them began looking past him. He smirked at them, knowing they had finally felt the gathering energy.

"There is also some diminishing energy towards where our campsite should be, but I fear these new demons will reach us before we can get there." Kurama nodded in another direction, where they hoped the camp was.

"Well, that other team is probably taking care of it. I wonder where they're from?" Briefly forgetting about the impending demon menace, Inuyasha actually looked thoughtful. Hiei smirked knowingly. Yusuke eyed him with suspicion.

"I guarantee they are not what you will be expecting." That confirmed it, Hiei knew something they didn't.

"Hiei, you weren't going through the school records again were you? Damnit, at least share with the rest of us." Yusuke clenched his fists at the mocking smirk on Hiei's face.

"Maybe later human. We have some demons to fight. Resurga's I believe." With that Hiei had his sword out, just as the first of the demons came out.

Scaly things they were, what you might expect when someone said the word 'demon'. Glassy black eyes were placed in narrow lizard like heads. They stood a little shorter than Hiei, and there were only a few hundred of them.

"Well, I suppose we have to fight then. I wonder if Resurga sent them after us personally, or just sent them to look for the Shikon no Tama. It is rumored to be here after all. I'm sure the Congress weren't the only ones to here about it. Rose Whip!" As Kurama spoke he drew a rose out of his hair, calmly activating it with two simple words and a burst of spirit energy.

"Who knows? Who cares? Lets fight!" Inuyasha jumped into a group of the strange lizard demons, not even bothering to take out Tetsusaiga.

"Hn." Hiei smirked at their leader before swiftly disappearing, reappearing alongside the bodies of a few demons.

"Oh fine, you bunch of show offs." Yusuke grumbled to himself, throwing a few punches filled with spirit energy, swiftly taking care of a half dozen demons.

The demons were briefly taken aback by the fighting skills their opponents were showing, and then used the one tactic that was likely to work. They rushed them. When one was killed, two more would be there, trying to kill the team of boys. So far, it seemed it might even work.

Yusuke was falling back constantly, more on defense than offense now. He couldn't even take his eyes of the horde of demons to check up on his friends. Yusuke was too busy trying not to get himself killed. "Shotgun!" rang through the air, the multiple energy bullets giving him a brief reprieve as the demons stared down at the number of their now dead-comrades.

The reprieve was broken with a roar of rage as the demons scrambled over each other trying to get their claws into him. "Oh Shit!" was all Yusuke had time for before he was struggling to survive. Apparently the demons didn't like what he had just done. He could hear Inuyasha swearing up a storm, and felt briefly relieved to know he was still alive and kicking.

Then Yusuke stumbled, feeling the energy in his body waning. The demons lunged, but before they could take advantage of his weakness, pink light flew in front of him, decimating the demons immediately in front of him, and landing in the dirt in front of his feet. A glowing shield briefly went up in front of him, and Yusuke turned around, prepared to face a new threat if necessary.

A girl stood in front of him, black hair flowing freely down her back as she stood grinning with a bow in hand. Shocked, he realized the 'glowing pink light' had been an arrow.

"What?" Yusuke blinked, and began to try again, hoping to form a more coherent sentence as she began speaking.

"Hi. You must be Yusuke Urameshi. I read your file, or the part of it in our database. I'm Kagome Higurashi. We're the other half of your team. And by the way, you're late."

kitsune - a multi tailed fox.  
miko - a pure priestess, a priestess who specializes in purifying demons.


	3. Chapter 3

{Author's Note: Darn, some of you are real silly with the pairings. There's one easy way to at least find out who Kagome's paired with. There are four main pairings, as you can probably reason out. Pairings that have been guessed and are wrong:  
  
Kag/Kur - Nope, sorry. I doubt I'll ever do this pairing. There are enough of them out there.  
  
Hiei/San - Not this story, sorry.  
  
San/Yus - Still nope, and I won't ever do this pairing either. I wonder why? *smirks* Some of you know why I'm sure.  
  
Keep guessing!}  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Chapter 3 - It burns!  
  
The eight teenagers, and one hyperactive kitsune child, were standing in the middle of what had once been a horde of demons. Now what was left was a couple hundred bodies and a bunch of dust. The four older boys were staring suspiciously at the girls who had jumped into the fight to help them.  
  
Well, three were staring, Inuyasha was glaring. "Damn it, both of you can't be here! Kagome's too young, and Kikyou shouldn't be out here fighting! What the hell is the Alliance thinking?"  
  
Kikyou and Kagome gave him eerily similar glares and Kagome's hand twitched towards her bow before Kikyou smoothly calmed her down. By inciting Inuyasha's rage of course. "They were probably thinking someone needed to keep you alive, since you apparently can't do it yourself."  
  
Kikyou looked pointedly at the scratches in his uniform, one quite close to his neck. Inuyasha began growling. Hiei was glaring at the girl who had helped him, who also kept trying to heal him.  
  
Yusuke was scowling at Inuyasha. "Hey, how do you know those two Inuyasha?" He didn't notice the two girls freezing, and Kagome's slightly panicked look. Inuyasha saw them and he frowned, remembering a promise he had made.   
  
"Keh."  
  
"Inuyasha! You damn - Never mind. Hiei, are these the people?" Yusuke turned his attention towards Hiei, though he noticed the kitsune kit was staring at Kurama with something akin to awe.  
  
"Yes. The girls are. The fox kit wasn't in the records," Hiei stated as he once again avoided the blue-haired girl's healing energy. She gave an undignified snort and gave up.   
  
"Fine. I'll just go talk to Sango." She sauntered off towards another raven-haired girl with dark brown eyes who had a boomerang strapped to her back.  
  
Kagome cleared her throat and Yusuke's head jerked towards her as she spoke. "The kitsune kit is Shippo, who we recently saved from two Thunder youkai. I'm Kagome Higurashi, this is my sister Kikyou Shento."  
  
She stopped and motioned towards Kikyou before the blue-haired girl stepped forward and the boys' attention switched to her. "And I'm Botan. This is Sango, probably the only one of us who is slightly sane."  
  
Kagome snickered, and couldn't resist adding her own little comment. "And once you know how insane Sango is, you might have to start worrying about your own sanity. After all, only me and Botan were insane at first. But we managed to recruit the others. Isn't that right?"  
  
Kikyou rolled her eyes as the two girls exchanged smirks. "Though they have a point, we can be sane. When we want to." Kikyou's eyes sparkled with mirth as the four boys gave them various looks of disbelief.  
  
Sango grinned at her friends, but her eyes returned to Inuyasha and her eyes narrowed. "I heard about you. You hurt Kagome."  
  
"Stupid wench, I had a goal. She got in my way. If you've heard her story then you to will know not to get in my way." Inuyasha was smirking until a fist hit his face. He stumbled back in shock, feeling the burn of the miko energy and glancing up. He had expected to see a cool looking Kikyou, but instead he saw a furious Kagome. His eyes went round in shock.  
  
"Inuyasha, no matter what you think of me, you will never disrespect my friends, or I'll do a lot worse than give you burns. I've grown a bit since you last saw me, and I'm in better control of my powers," she said, glaring at him all the while. After she finished she immediately brightened up, turning to the rest of the boys with a bright smile.  
  
"Now, would the rest of you like to introduce yourselves?" she asked pleasantly. Inuyasha shrunk back and Hiei quirked an eyebrow up at her sudden mood change. Kurama exchanged confused looks with Yusuke. How did she change moods so fast?  
  
"Well, I'm Kurama, also known as Shuichi Minamino. Please, call me Kurama." Kurama smiled pleasantly, putting all of his charm into his simple words and fervently hoping that girl never decided she disliked _him.  
  
_As expected all the girls stared at Kurama for a moment, except Kagome. Kurama looked surprised, but she just smirked. "So, you're a kitsune? Or at least have the spirit of one. That's confusing."  
  
Kikyou's only sign of confusion was the slight crinkling of her brow before she focused her senses on the apparently teenage boy. Kagome was right, there was a sense of a kitsune about him. Shippo looked interested as well and quickly jumped up to Kurama's shoulder, sniffing about.  
  
Kurama flushed in embarrassment at the girls pointing out what he had purposefully left out. He wasn't surprised when the kit jumped up to his shoulder, it was common for a kitsune child to do that. Despite it being many years since he himself was a kit, he still remembered seeing the young fox demons doing the same as Shippo.  
  
Yusuke smirked at the look on Kurama's face and introduced himself to the three girls who didn't know who he was. "I'm Yusuke Urameshi, that's Hiei, and apparently you already know Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha growled as Yusuke covered up a snicker, then glared at Kagome, baring his fangs. Kagome met his glare with one of her own. Kikyou cleared her throat, stepping in between the two. "Stop that. You can do that later."  
  
Kagome obeyed her sister's sensible suggestion, watching the other team. That Hiei was a demon too. She closed her eyes briefly, focusing, and came back to herself with a smile at Kikyou. "Fire."  
  
Kikyou raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by fire? Kikyou looked around, her eyes focusing on the four boys and finally landing on the suspicious fire apparition. "I see."  
  
Hiei glared at the two girls. "Something wrong with what I am?"  
  
Kagome smiled brightly. "Nothing at all." _'Except that there are three boys with demon blood on our team. This will be harder than I thought. I knew I should have dug deeper into the files when I hacked in.'  
  
_Kagome turned to the rest of them, grinning happily, seemingly forgetting the rather tense atmosphere. "So, should we get back to camp then?"  
  
Inuyasha snarled and took a few steps towards her. His pride was injured and he would do anything to return the favor. "What makes you think we would follow you? You're speaking out of turn, let your leader speak for once, which is obviously Kikyou since she's the oldest."  
  
Kikyou at this moment wondered if Inuyasha had a death wish. She expected Kagome to do something rash like when she had punched him, but instead found that the black haired boy, Yusuke, dragged him backwards and was staring at him in disbelief, and a little amusement. "Inuyasha, you're a moron. Look!"  
  
Yusuke indicated the small star on Kagome's traditional brown top of her organization. Kagome grinned cheekily. "That's right puppy, looks like you were wrong. Again. Then again, when it comes to us, when are you not?"  
  
Inuyasha was confused by the last statement, but settled for just snarling at her. Yusuke looked suspiciously between them again. When he got Inuyasha out of the girls' earshot, he would find out exactly what was going on.  
  
"I'm not a puppy," Inuyasha muttered sullenly. No one said anything, but there were suspicious snickers from Yusuke and Kurama, and giggles from Kagome and Botan.  
  
"Hn." Even Hiei's one word held undertones of amusement. Kikyou smiled and cleared her throat.   
  
"Ahem. Kagome did suggest something, everyone remember?" Kagome pouted and Sango rolled her eyes. They'd had enough time to fool around.  
  
"Oh that. Sure, you girls led the way," Yusuke said. Kagome grinned at him and started heading back towards the camp. She was practically skipping, and Botan was whispering something in her ear while looking back towards the boys. Both of them giggled.  
  
The boys hung back a few paces, giving the girls privacy for their own conversations while they talked amongst themselves.  
  
"Inuyasha. Talking now would be a good idea, otherwise you have clean up duty over everything the next two weeks."   
  
Inuyasha glared at their team leader. He hated clean up duty, but he couldn't answer Yusuke. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"The mikos." Kurama looked at Hiei in surprise, but his gaze was firmly fixed on the dog hanyou. Apparently Yusuke wasn't the only one curious.  
  
"I met them once. That's it." Inuyasha thought furiously. He needed a good lie that would explain why Kagome had been so mad at him. He winced as he found one. Well, in a way it was part of the truth.  
  
"Why's she so mad at you?" Yusuke's attention was also fixed on the silver-haired boy. Inuyasha seemed to shrink away from their demanding gazes before apparently resigning himself.  
  
"I did something stupid. I liked Kikyou but she didn't even know I existed. Remember that summer after the ship incident when they gave us three months before they called us back for training? I met those two then. I liked Kikyou but she wouldn't even look at me. So I got to her through Kagome." Inuyasha appeared sorrowful, but inwardly he was hoping the lie would work. After all, there was some truth in it. He had gone through Kagome to get to Kikyou. Just not for the reason that he was saying.  
  
Yusuke just glared at the hanyou, but didn't say anything more. They'd all been together since they were 13. He had learned to tell when one of them was lying by now. Though Kurama was always a challenge with his past. Now, one of his teammates was choosing some girls over the trust he had earned from them all over the years.   
  
"Fine," Yusuke said through gritted teeth. Inuyasha winced and dropped back a few paces to take to the trees beside them. When he didn't want to be part of a conversation anymore he went into the trees. Obviously he was upset his team leader didn't believe him. Of course, he was lying so he had no reason to be upset.  
  
Up front the girls were having their own trust issues. Not with each other, but with the boys. Kikyou and Kagome had their own reasons, Sango just didn't think they could be trusted to watch their backs.  
  
"Three of them have demon blood that I can sense. Though it is common in that school they went to. Not many demons on our side send their females to be trained formally." Kikyou spoke thoughtfully, but her eyes kept darting back to watch the boys cautiously.  
  
"That's because they have them act on single missions if their help is needed. Besides, there were some girls who were demons at our school. Saghetra just had more demons because more males are generally sent to war. The demons on our side are still a bit protective of their children, the Alliance hasn't exactly given them the best protection," Kagome pointed out. Kikyou frowned and Sango just snorted.  
  
"I don't trust them. The one you said had a kitsune spirit seemed nice enough, but the other three? Did the fire apparition even speak?"  
  
"I think he was a silver." A little voice piped up from Kagome's shoulder and immediately the tension in the group began to seep away as they focused their eyes on the kit.  
  
"A silver? Really? That's impressive, isn't it girls?" Botan winked at the kit and the kit briefly gave her a sly smile. Oh yeah, he knew how to distract them. He'd probably be a wonderful mischief-maker too. She turned her head away from the group and grinned.  
  
"If he's so impressive, then why is he in a human body?" Kikyou asked, grinning at Botan and Shippo. She couldn't be sure, but she would have sworn she'd seen them exchange brief mischievous looks.  
  
"Accidents happen Kikyou. If we really need to know we can ask him later." Kagome was in a foul mood, and she didn't seem to want to come out of it. Seeing that traitorous hanyou Inuyasha had been bad enough, but now she would have to keep the Shikon a secret for as long as she could. She certainly wasn't going to just allow two unknown demons to know she had it. Maybe, if it came down to it and they proved trustworthy, maybe then she would tell everyone. But that was doubtful. It was a burden she could only really share with Kikyou.  
  
"Oh, cheer up Kagome. At least they're all cute." The other three girls stared at her and she shrugged. Shippo rolled his eyes and fell down into Kagome's waiting arms, letting out a yawn and falling asleep in an instant. Kagome giggled and Kikyou shook her head.  
  
"That kit... he still hurts from his parents death, but he has much love in him. Almost as much as you do Kagome. Are you going to adopt him?" Kikyou's tone held only curiosity, she didn't care either way if Kagome took him in or let someone else to it. Botan certainly would if Kagome didn't.  
  
"Let's all adopt him! He can have four mothers!" Botan giggled at the end of Kagome's sentence, and Sango laughed to.  
  
"Hey! Laughing girls! How much longer?" Yusuke yelled at them. The girls considered each other for a moment, but before the other's could answer, Sango decided to take it into her own hands.  
  
"Why? Are you big strong boys getting tired?" The mocking tone in her voice was obvious and the boys bristled at her words. Hiei and Inuyasha had switched places, and Hiei glared at the girl from his tree branch while Inuyasha took it upon himself to answer from his spot beside Yusuke.  
  
"Bored is more like it. The only thing to do is watch you, and that certainly isn't entertaining," Inuyasha said with a smirk. Yusuke and Kurama exchanged a glance as the girls stopped walking and slowly backed away from the oblivious dog-eared boy.  
  
"Stupid idiot. They're going to put him in hell and bring him back to beat on him again." Even Yusuke usually knew better than to say that to a girl. He did now anyway.  
  
"Probably. Especially since three of them seem willing to kill him already." Kurama nodded towards Kikyou, Kagome, and now Sango.  
  
Hiei sat back on his branch and watched as the half-breed pissed off their new allies. _'How intelligent,' _he thought dryly.  
  
The four girls had whirled around, teeth clenched and eyes flashing in anger. Kagome and Kikyou both had a firm grasp on their miko powers, and Botan was pondering if it was really wrong to shoot an ally. Sango simply wanted to punch him.  
  
Inuyasha finally seemed to realize his mistake and attempt to fix it. By digging himself deeper. "Keh! I only meant Sango!"  
  
"Oh, so the rest of us aren't even worth looking at, only Sango?" Botan's eyes narrowed into slits and Inuyasha shook his head vigorously.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant! She's not worth looking at either!" Inuyasha realized his mistake to late as the girls pounced on him.  
  
Within a few minutes Kurama and Yusuke found themselves dragging an unconscious dog hanyou towards the camp. "Damn it, Kurama, stop feeding him, he's getting fat!"  
  
Kurama rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. "Maybe you're just getting weaker Yusuke."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Bad Kurama! Who wants to see him get shot with the Spirit Gun? *blank stares* Oh come on, wouldn't it be funny? *pitchforks and torches are raised from Kurama fans* Or not. To the reviewer responses then.   
  
FireDemonLord  
Have done so! Keep reading and reviewing!  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess  
Updated, and nope! But keep guessing! I like the guesses!  
  
helen (SpringSakura07@aol.com)   
Nope! Not Kur/Kag or Sango/Yus. But they both do get a Yu Yu boy! Come one, try to guess which one. Well, actually I just eliminated all the Yu Yu boys but one for Sango, so that's out of the way.  
  
Yusukeholic  
Well, I had to have someone get the records. Who better than Hiei? It was either he or Kurama, and Kurama's too much of a good little schoolboy to hack. Yusuke isn't very computer savvy.  
  
wayfarer-redemption  
Thanks! I'm glad someone thinks so. Here's a new update, as you've probably already read.  
  
SilentDark  
She probably saw them in the fight already, and he's not quite used to some of his new strengths yet. I'll explain, but if she came up against that force, she'd probably have the same problem he did.   
  
Kinky Usagi  
Okie-Dokie! Just wondering.   
  
Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe  
Aww, it wasn't that evil! Heh, I think I'm rushing the fic a bit in the meetings and stuff. Probably because I want to get to juicy parts. Bad me.  



	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Yes! Some of you are beginning to guess right, as you'll see at the bottom. Though, when you read this chapter, I'm sure that at least one pairing will be glaringly obvious. I did that purposely, I was getting exasperated.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
------------------------------  
  
Chapter 4 - Eggs  
  
"So, how are they doing?" Two high powered beings entered his room, one voice cool and demanding as it spoke. Tenashu groaned, blue eyes fixing on the taiyoukai in exasperation.  
  
"Do you have to come ask me this when I'm trying to work? If your brother was in any more trouble than my girls being mad at him, I'd tell you. And you," he turned towards the small aging human who had crossed her arms, staring at him with an unreadable expression. "Your student's doing fine. Though I'm not sure the Controller and the Guardian are supposed to have the sort of relationship _he _wants."  
  
Tenashu frowned, remembering the last few visions. He was no longer _the _Prophet and was now simply one of the normal prophets. So, now about all he could do was look after his daughter and stepdaughter and hope they would be okay. Unfortunately, this was still an ability that none of the other prophets had, which was why they were in his room.  
  
"He's the Controller? You never said that. He can't even control his temper, never mind a powerful jewel that could destroy whole worlds." Genkai glared at Tenashu, as Sesshoumaru frowned.  
  
"I had forgotten my brother had such a bad relationship with the miko sisters. That will make things difficult." Sesshoumaru's tone was unreadable and Tenashu wondered if the dog demon really cared, or if he was just faking some concern. Then again, why would he be here now if he did not? He could have just waited for the formal reports if he just wanted to know the general progress of the groups.   
  
Tenashu sighed, then shrugged. "They're doing well. They've begun bonding the eggs and at least they aren't trying to kill each other. Though Kagome did enter that battle at a most appropriate time. Of course, that was hours ago."  
  
He found himself with two angry people in the room after that sentence. "There was a battle, and they met, hours ago? And you didn't send us anything about it?"  
  
Tenashu groaned as Sesshoumaru began growling. This was going to be a long meeting.  
  
~_~_~  
  
Gold eyes flickered open; shivering as icy sapphire eyes stared angrily into his. Why couldn't they have been gray? He would have rather seen the gray eyes that hid their emotions than the raw rage and hurt he always saw when he looked into hers. _'I just wanted the jewel. I was young. I knew your sister had to have it, she was the older of you two. I didn't mean to hurt you in the process. Either of you.'  
  
_Kagome nearly gasped at the shame and guilt that filled Inuyasha's eyes before the emotions were hidden. She studied him a bit longer, trying to clear up her confusion, before turning the rest of the group. "He's awake now."  
  
"Yeah, well, if you damn girls didn't decide to knock me unconscious for simply speaking my mind, I would have been awake this whole time and-"  
  
"Inuyasha." Inuyasha was interrupted by the quiet voice of Kikyou. He flinched and the other three boys, standing off to one side, all narrowed their eyes as one. The girl hadn't appeared angry. He had no reason to flinch.  
  
"Yeah, Kikyou?" He took it back. He would have rather seen blue. At least he knew Kagome hated him. With Kikyou, it was hard to tell either way.  
  
"Perhaps next time you should think before you act. Or speak in this particular case." Inuyasha saw the flash of anger sweep across her eyes and his ears flattened down to his head. That answered that question. He heard someone clear there throat and looked over to see Kurama, one eyebrow raised quizzically before he began talking.  
  
"Fortunately, I had a device to call our hovercraft Inuyasha, and we had packed before we decided to walk. So, the hovercraft will be here in a few minutes, Inuyasha." Kurama looked up and searched the sky as he talked to Inuyasha but the hovercraft was not yet in sight.  
  
The four girls had grouped together again and seemed to be discussing something. Sango turned around and addressed Kurama. "While you boys await your car we're going to unpack the rest of our things."  
  
Sango turned around and three of the girls and Shippo left, leaving Kagome by herself. Inuyasha turned his face away, studying the sky as Kurama watched the other girls walk away and Hiei sat on a tree branch. Kagome shrugged and looked at Yusuke, who seemed more than a bit angry that Sango had skipped normal procedure and just decided to tell Kurama. _'Stupid charming fox, girls never pay attention to who has what rank when he's around. '  
  
_Yusuke seemed a bit surprised to see Kagome was still in front of him and narrowed his eyes. She probably just wanted to talk to Kurama too. "Since we're supposed to be one team, I think we should get together and decide cooking and clean up schedules, who has communication duties, and other things after your settled in. So, after dinner? I'm sure everyone can settle out dinner between themselves for one night."  
  
Yusuke smirked at the other leader, not noticing that Kurama was watching them talk and Inuyasha's ears had swiveled around to listen. "Sure. Besides, I know at least _they,_" he indicated his team, "will probably be the easiest to handle right after they've had a meal."  
  
"Too right. It's hard to get Sango to do anything besides sleep after she's had a meal. She just wants to curl up and not be bothered until morning. She always awakens early though, so it all works out. Oh, I have to go unpack my stuff. I'll talk to you after dinner Yusuke!" Kagome grinned at him, then turned and promptly ran over to her stuff, digging in and carrying thing towards the two tents for the girls.  
  
"We only get one tent, Why do they get to tents?" Yusuke grumbled under his breath, hiding the flash of disappointment when the girl left even as he watched her from the other side of camp. He heard a snort from Inuyasha and glared.  
  
"Yusuke, do remember you just met the girl," Kurama said. Yusuke glared at him.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Yusuke's gaze flickered between Inuyasha's unreadable golden eyes and Kurama's amused green ones.  
  
"He means that we know when you like a girl even before you do. I don't see what's so great about Kagome. Stupid girl. She half killed me the first time her miko powers lashed out at me." Inuyasha swung off topic while reliving memories of two years gone. He leaned back as his three teammates all glared at him.  
  
"Really? And why would the miko want to kill you Inuyasha?" Kurama's green gaze was cold and Inuyasha winced. They really did hate it when one of them lied, and that it was apparently something that almost got him killed was even worse.  
  
"I already told you. She just got jealous because I wanted Kikyou and mad I was using her. Her emotions drove her powers at the time." Half-truths always worked best. He hadn't really been interested in either of the girls either way, but he wasn't lying that much.  
  
"She seemed pretty in control when she punched you. I'm sure she could have melted all your face off. She's a miko after all." Yusuke glared at his supposed friend. Inuyasha's ears were drooping again, an obvious sign that he was lying, besides the fact that he wouldn't look any of them in the face.  
  
"The mikos are very powerful. I do not have all the details, but the younger one has the powers to destroy him, and possibly the skills," Hiei added in with a snort. Three pairs of eyes swung around to him as all three of them caught on to what he had said.  
  
"That powerful?" Yusuke asked, sneaking a glance to the other side of the camp where Kagome was bent, shuffling through equipment.  
  
"Kagome doesn't have skills. She's a child," Inuyasha sneered. He pushed the guilt away. That he was loosing trust from his friends by keeping their secrets seemed a big enough pay back that he didn't have to be polite about it.  
  
"What do you mean you don't have the details? Hiei, your skills at getting information, especially from computers, should have given you everything," Kurama said, a confused frown on his face.   
  
"Hn," Hiei answered, glaring at them before disappearing higher up the tree.  
  
"That was helpful. Damn fire apparition," Inuyasha muttered, glaring up the tree.  
  
"You know, she definitely doesn't look like a child," Yusuke remarked, still watching Kagome from across the clearing. Inuyasha growled in frustration.  
  
"I was talking about how she acts, moron."   
  
"Talking about yourself again, Inuyasha?" Yusuke asked mockingly. Inuyasha snarled, his claws flexing dangerously. Kurama interrupted them by turning their attention to the sky.  
  
"The car's here," Kurama said calmly as it started to lower. Yusuke and Inuyasha immediately leapt away, remembering the time they had gotten caught up in fighting and Kurama had landed the flying car on them.  
  
Inuyasha immediately jumped into the car, going into the back part specifically made for carrying their mission supplies. He threw around a few bags before coming out with a round device with a miniature solar panel attached and a lot of ramen. He snarled at everyone around him. "The ramen's mine! All of it! You can all eat anything else, just stay away from the ramen!"  
  
The boys watched as Inuyasha went away happily, placing his heating device and ramen on the ground as he gathered up water. Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Like we'd obey him. Hell, I steal his ramen just to see him scream."  
  
Kurama sighed at Yusuke's statement. "We know. It's why I'm always gathering plants to help you and Inuyasha heal. You two do more damage to each other than the enemy ever does. Though our ship blowing up came close."  
  
Yusuke glared at him and stalked off to the hovercraft. He grinned as he looked inside. Tonight he'd see if the Congress were right. He would see if an egg accepted Kagome.  
  
~_~_~  
  
Kagome watched as the other three girls headed towards their side of the camp, filled with food and Sango already looking like she wanted to sleep. Sapphire orbs searched and spotted Yusuke sitting near those strange eggs they had brought, the other three boys near their own tent. She smiled and walked over to Yusuke, settling herself besides him while looking at the eggs curiously.  
  
"Those are eggs of some strange creatures called Ancients," Yusuke said in answer to her questioning look. Kagome nodded, but her gaze was fixed firmly on the eggs. Four of them were much larger than the others, and rolled away from the remaining six. The eggs carried spirits in them, growing ones, she could sense that. Her hand neared the eggs and they all seemed to call out to her, but she couldn't seem to choose one.   
  
Inuyasha had crept up, moving silently through the trees. He smirked when he saw Kagome's hand wavering uncertainly over the eggs. "Looks like the wench doesn't get a soul partner. It was almost instantaneous with the rest of us. The eggs know when their energy source is near."  
  
"Energy source? Soul partner?' Kagome briefly ignored the insult to send a puzzled look towards Yusuke.  
  
"Yeah. When you touch the egg it eats your energy. Not all of it, just a good percentage. You get to choose when to feed it though. We also got orders not to move until the eggs were hatched. They bond to your soul while they develop in the egg," Yusuke explained, struggling to remember the few things they had been told while sending a glare at Inuyasha. Not all of the eggs had chosen quickly. Yusuke's golden-green egg had taken almost a full minute to choose.  
  
"Keh. Stupid wench isn't good enough for an egg." Inuyasha growled at Kagome, still furious over the earlier stabs to his pride, forgetting the guilt he held.  
  
Kagome's fury grew as Inuyasha talked and she felt a small answering pulse from her anger. She saw a dark blue egg briefly glow and she smirked, her eyes turning to meet Inuyasha's. "Looks like you're wrong again," she smirked and added one, "puppy." before placing her left hand on the egg.  
  
She forced herself to keep her hand there as the egg glowed pink with her miko powers. Her whole body was tingling as energy streamed out of her and into the egg. Her eyes were impossibly wide as she watched the egg grow before her very eyes. She heard Inuyasha let out a choked gasp in the back round as the egg stopped taking energy.  
  
"Damn. That thing grew just as much as yours did the first time, Yusuke. If not more." Inuyasha said, staring at Kagome and her egg while he directed his comment towards Yusuke. Yusuke, on his part, was a bit surprised.  
  
"Either the eggs grow bigger from miko energy, or you're a hell of a powerful miko Kagome," Yusuke stated as Kagome leaned back, looking a bit shaky. Yusuke managed a grin to reassure her.  
  
"Every time you feed it you'll probably feel a bit dizzy afterwards. Fortunately after they hatch they don't eat as much, and can eat other energy besides your own," Kurama said as he came up behind them. He to was staring at her egg curiously. Seeing the boys gathering near the eggs, Botan and Kikyou were beginning to wander over with a sleep Sango in tow.  
  
Kagome barely listened to the sounds around her, but instead was looking at her egg. She picked it up slowly, letting it settle in the crook of her elbow. It had gone from being slightly bigger than her fist, to the size of Shippo. She calmly stood on shaky legs and walked over to the boys' eggs, putting hers down near the other 'claimed' eggs.  
  
Kagome settled down and grinned as Shippo came up, jumping onto her shoulder and peering at the egg. "Why'd that one grow when you touched it?"  
  
Kagome petted Shippo's tail as he spoke, then nodded to the older boys. "Ask them, I think they'll be telling it again to everyone else. Especially since there are five more eggs. One for each of us and a couple of extras. Maybe only one if you get one Shippo."  
  
She smiled as the kit jumped away to listen to Kurama explain the eggs. She chuckled at her own automatic reactions to the kitsune. She had saved him from youkai only a half a day ago yet she already knew how to calm him. He seemed to be so simple compared to the rest of them. They all had secrets. She believed she knew most of the ones in her own group, but her new teammates were another story.  
  
Her gaze trailed over each of them, wondering why they specifically had been ordered to do these missions. She didn't care what Metria had said, her team all had personal reasons for wanting to get rid of Resurga and Naraku and protect the Shikon. Killing Resurga and Naraku went with the package of protecting the Shikon no Tama, and Metria had said that was why they would eventually be sent against them.  
  
Kagome didn't believe her. The war had been going on for decades with the three armies fighting each other. Yet, now, the one object that all three sides wanted to use was being sent straight into danger with eight teenagers and a kitsune child to protect it. There was something off here. Why not hundreds of soldiers? What made this team special?  
  
_'I'll get a headache thinking this way. I know Father has something to do with this. And the prophecy. I wish I knew more about that. But he never said much about his visions, and one-day I was just saddled with my duty. And he left us. Dropped his last name to protect us and left to "help" he said. He must know we're out here. Doesn't he care? If we fail the whole war will be lost! Why is he doing this?' _Kagome could feel the moisture beginning in her eyes, and two gazes were on her. One worried and sympathetic, instinctively knowing what she was thinking about.  
  
Kagome's gaze met the other, looking into Yusuke's confused eyes. Reading his puzzled face she simply mouthed '_memories_' and left it at that. He was still gazing at her, but his look was oddly thoughtful as the girls began to stare at the eggs in awe. Kagome dropped her eyes from his. Her sister always said she gave away too much in her eyes, and she knew that if she kept looking at him he would read into her other emotions.  
  
She looked up as she heard Shippo's yell of delight. He had been the next to get an egg. "Look Kagome! My egg is the same color as your eyes!"  
  
Kagome laughed at Shippo's statement, but found it was true. His egg was lighter than hers, and almost the exact shade of her eyes. She shrugged, the eggs were odd anyway, and she couldn't do anything about the color. "That's great Shippo. I'm glad you have an egg."  
  
"Yeah, but Kurama says the egg color doesn't always impact the color of the animal inside. I think it would be nice if whatever is inside is that color." Kagome frowned, contemplating what Shippo said. No one had actually mentioned exactly what was in the eggs. She shrugged, then looked over as Yusuke came up. Shippo jumped onto Yusuke's shoulder. "Hello! You're Yusuke! Which one is your egg?"  
  
Kagome giggled as Yusuke rolled his eyes and he gave her a mock glare before putting one hand on a golden green egg that glowed blue with his energy. "This ones mine. Nice to see you got an egg kid. But shouldn't you be a bit more tired?"  
  
Shippo shrugged, then put one hand up and touched Yusuke's slicked back hair. "Why do you do that? Why not leave it down? Does the fire apparition's hair stand up like that naturally? Why does Kurama have a fox spirit inside of him? I think he's a silver. That's what he smells like. Why are the eggs here? Will I be taken away from Kagome and the girls?"  
  
Shippo liked the girls, that was obvious. After all, they had taken revenge when he could not. Yusuke seemed to be reeling from all the questions, but caught the last one and grinned reassuringly. "Nah, kid, not only would the girls fight, we would to if you don't want to go. And nobody ever beats me and my team. No one ever will."  
  
Shippo relaxed at the confident tone and Kagome was smiling at the words, feeling the contentment radiating from the kit. She understood why the kitsune needed to ask. He needed to know if he could get attached to them, or if he would be shipped off. She smiled at Yusuke and added to his words. "That goes for me, Kikyou, Botan, and Sango. Besides, Botan thinks all four of us girls should take care of you, and you've never seen anyone try to take something Botan considers as hers. She'd face the whole army of Naraku before she let someone take something of hers."  
  
She reached out her arms towards Shippo and he jumped into them, snuggling into her arms. So that Yusuke couldn't hear, she added to her former sentences. "I would too Shippo. Naraku and Resurga's. And we won't get killed off either."  
  
She saw the kit's body shake a little in tears. Yusuke shifted awkwardly across from her before following her earlier example and running a hand through Shippo's tail. This seemed to calm the child and he was fast asleep in a few minutes. Kagome smiled at him and Yusuke scowled. "What?"  
  
"Nothing. I just think that was sweet." Kagome smiled at his scowling and shocked face before walking off. Yusuke stared as she went back to her separate side of the camp before her sentence clocked in his mind.  
  
"Sweet? I'm Yusuke Urameshi. I am _not _sweet." Yusuke scowled before stomping back to his tent, grumbling under his breath while her off hand comment still rang in his mind. Finally he stopped, then grinned when he was sure no one was looking. Maybe sweet wasn't so bad.  
  
  
---------------------------  
  
Author's Note: *dryly* Gee, I wonder who I paired Kagome with. *grins* I'm sure you all know that by now.  
  
smile7499   
Thanks, I try to keep them in character. Of course, considering the different back rounds, they will step out of character sometimes. Thanks for reading, I don't care if people actually like it, but I do like the feedback saying why they like it or don't.  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess   
Nope, it's not Kuwabara. He won't be in this that much, though he and some other characters will pop in eventually. As for bashing, I don't go out of my way to bash, sometimes the characters have problems with each other, but that's just history. Though, if you want Inuyasha seen in a bad light, you'll probably love the story I'm in the process of writing.   
  
Reiko   
Thank you, review again.  
  
The Youkai Nightmare   
Heh. You're right about the Yusuke/Kagome part of course. What else would I do? *grins* You get candy for guessing that pairing! Also, Sango/Kurama is also correct. Which, you can probably figure out the last pairings by who is left.  
  
wayfarer-redemption   
Thank you, I will!  
  
princessdaisy   
Candy for you! Yes! It is Yus/Kag! Thanks for reviewing, review again!  
  
FireDemonLord   
Actually, he isn't a half demon. Raizen is his full demon grandfather about 44 generations back who in the latter part of YYH, awakens Yusuke's demon blood, making him a full demon. But, in the beginning, he's simply a human with a bit of demon blood. Otherwise, someone would have sensed that he was a demon. Believe me, that confused me at first too, but I looked around the Internet for awhile and got help from Yusukeholic on the subject. Thanks for liking the story, review again!  
  
Angelfirey   
Oooh! Candy to you! You guessed my favorite pairing right! Kagome and Yusuke it is, as well as the Hiei Botan pairing!  
  
CrimsonBlades16   
*grins* Thanks for thinking it was nice. As to why it can't be Kurama/Kagome...Because I don't like that pairing. I will never do that pairing. Actually, there is only one Kagome pairing I will ever do, and it's not Hiei/Kag either. Everyone else, I have no preference as to pairings, mostly anyway.  
  
SsAnImE   
Nope to all of your pairings. Sorry, review again.  
  
Kinky Usagi   
*giggles* Yeah, it would be funny to see a crispy Kurama. And, as you know, you were right about the Botan Hiei pairings, though it hasn't shown itself much in this chapter.  
  
Cyclonus1   
I don't mind you not reviewing the second chapter. It's not like I review every chapter of every story I review. And yeah, the girls and Inuyasha will probably have a few more spats in the future before they decide to be a bit less violent with him and he decides to not insult them every other minute.  
  
YuYuGang-Kagome r the Best   
Heh. You know, I may actually get Kurama shot at some point. Maybe Youko will come out and try to get the jewel again. That would do it. Of course, everyone will probably get hurt at one point in the story or another.  
  
Rem9   
You're half-right. It is San/Kur, but not Kag/Hiei. Review again!  
  
blazingsunstar   
Thanks. Review again.  
  
Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe   
Here's a new update.  



	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Sorry about not updating most of Christmas vacation. I was sick for most of it, and also working on another story (not posted) for a friend. Updating will return to its irregular schedule. Oh, pairings posted below after the disclaimer incase you don't notice.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Haksuho or Inuyasha.  
  
Pairings: Yus/Kag, Botan/Hiei, San/Kur, and Inu/Kik  
  
------------------------------  
  
Chapter 5 - Maker?  
  
Botan touched her egg, golden energy trickling into the egg. All of the others simply got their energy eaten and they staggered back. On the other hand, Botan was finding she instinctively knew how to control how much she fed her egg. She acknowledged it probably was information from her other life, but she didn't want to know. Sometimes memories leaked out, and that only made her more determined. She would take the benefits from her past life, but she didn't want the memories, or anything else that came from it.  
  
She also attempted to keep the power she was showing a secret. If they saw her controlling how the egg ate this way, there would be too many questions. At least, from the boys there would be. She had a feeling at least Kikyou and probably Kagome had an inkling of her past life. More than she did perhaps.   
  
Right now she tried to push all of the worries about what she might have been before, focusing all her attention on her pink egg that was glowing golden as her energy slowly trickled in. In the background she could hear Sango picking out an egg while asking Kagome and Kikyou what exactly it had done, for Kikyou had chosen an egg shortly after Kagome. She shook her head, pushing her thoughts away again when the egg took an extra large bite of energy do to her wandering mind.  
  
With all of her attention on the egg, it was probably why she forgot all about keeping others from seeing how she was feeding it. As a consequence, Hiei took notice to the way she was feeding the egg and Botan suddenly had a suspicious fire apparition standing in front of her egg.  
  
"How are you doing that?" Startled out of her control, the egg grasped the tendrils of energy and ate it all at once, making Botan stagger back from the egg before focusing her pink eyes on the demon.  
  
"Do what?" Botan asked, panic welling up in her. She didn't even know how she was doing that, and she certainly couldn't explain it.  
  
Botan heard Hiei growl and she frantically looked around, her eyes briefly catching on the form of Sango who was being held back by Kurama. Apparently she didn't like it when the egg stole her energy. Oddly, the older kitsune did manage to calm her down, a feat in itself considering Sango's temper. Botan snapped back to reality as Hiei spoke again.  
  
"The egg. The energy. How did you do that?" Botan shook her head, trying to clear it as she felt something probe at her mental defenses. She frowned. She could have sworn she just saw something glow behind the bandana he wore.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just feeding my egg!" The panic seeped into her tone and she could see that for some reason he looked shock. It must have been him who had been trying to get passed her mental defenses. She couldn't even bring them down; she hadn't put most of them up in the first place. They blocked her from her past life, and she didn't even know who had put it up.  
  
Crimson eyes narrowed and one of Hiei's hand was moving dangerously close to his sword before Kagome bounded up and awoke both of them to the realization that they still were in camp and any confrontation would be seen by anyone. Hiei's hand moved away from his sword with a confused and frustrated growl as Kagome looked down at Botan's pink egg with a dubious look.  
  
"Everyone's eggs are stunted I think. You all have plenty of energy. The eggs should be much bigger. But, hey, you got your favorite color." What sounded awfully like an amused and disbelieving snort came from the watching fire apparition when the Easter egg look alike was announced to be adorned with Botan's favorite color.  
  
Kagome raised any eyebrow at the fire apparition and exchanged a look with Botan. "Is there a problem with the color pink?"  
  
Hiei eyed them warily, obviously not liking the look they had exchanged. He settled for a neutral, "Hn" before Kagome looked behind him towards the claimed eggs.   
  
"And I suppose the nice, evil looking, mostly black with a few red strips mixed in egg is yours? By the impression you've given so far, it seems to fit."  
  
"Yes, all darkness with a nice tinge of bloodshed," Botan added as Hiei eyed them both warily, looking for some trick in their statements. They spoke as if it was common place to talk to him like this. Shouldn't darkness and bloodshed make them at least a bit uneasy?  
  
"Hn." In an attempt to not be confused any further by the girls Hiei turned his back on them and strode in the direction of where most of group was gathered around the other eggs.  
  
Botan and Kagome exchanged quick grins. "I really thought that would have been harder. But, he doesn't seem to like talking much anyway, from what I can see. So, how were you doing that with the egg?"  
  
Botan jerked back in surprise as Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "I do have ears you know. You were too busy feed the egg and he was too curious about how you were doing it. Weird memory thing?"  
  
Botan nodded in relief, seeing her friend was about to drop the subject. "Yeah. I saw you got your favorite color egg too. Though, watch that we won't get anything even close to the shell colors when they hatch."  
  
Kagome grinned, a fond glance finding her own egg before she let her eyes wander and her eyes widened. "Kikyou got an egg! And it's a dark cherry red, her favorite color too!"  
  
Kagome and Botan gave delighted giggles as they both ran forward to look at Kikyou's egg. Sango's head snapped up from contemplating her dark green egg when the laughter reached her ears. "I don't see why you're celebrating. They suck out energy!"  
  
Inuyasha muttered something nasty from his spot besides Kikyou and Kagome scowled, apparently taking umbrage at the comment. "Yeah, while Inuyasha takes all the happiness out of the air, but no ones done anything about him yet. At least there are supposed to be useful when they hatch!"  
  
Inuyasha snarled, and it was about this time Yusuke slipped out of one of the boy's tents and seemed to be contemplating going back in when it seemed Kagome and Inuyasha were again going to get into a fight.  
  
"Inuyasha, Kagome, stop this. Kagome, you're supposed to be our leader. Inuyasha, perhaps you should refrain from saying anything insulting in Kagome's presence. Or perhaps anything at all if that is not possible." Kikyou's cool tone took both of the teenagers down a notch. Kagome let the tone roll off of her shoulders and simply shrugged.  
  
Inuyasha muttered out a, "I'm sorry Kikyou," and crossed his arms, glaring darkly at Yusuke when he looked between him and Kikyou with a knowing smirk. Kikyou nodded, pretending she didn't notice the dark look Inuyasha was throwing at Yusuke or the unseemly sneer Kagome had placed on her face whenever Inuyasha was around.  
  
"You're forgiven Inuyasha." Inuyasha and Kagome both swung around to stare in shocked silence at the double meaning behind the words. It was obvious he was forgiven for more than just this fight. Kagome gaped at her sister, wondering is she had finally snapped. After all those times of telling her never to trust anyone, especially those with demon blood, she was suddenly forgiving the hanyou of his past transgressions.  
  
In pure astonishment Kagome took a few steps backwards and landed beside her egg, watching as Kikyou and Inuyasha seemed to have a conversation with only their eyes. Finally Inuyasha's ears drooped and he nodded his head. "Thank you."  
  
Kikyou frowned at her sister's reaction. Really, she was just trying to take a page from her book in the forgiveness and making friends' category. She didn't have to make it seem like she was betraying them to an enemy. That had been years ago, and despite the immature fights Kagome and Inuyasha got into, they were both more mature now. And dog-demons, even a halfing, never broke a promise without good reason, and Inuyasha was sworn to them. Finally Kikyou frowned and shrugged. She would never understand her younger sibling. She could swing from one mood to another without warning. She got it from her father, as she did so much else.  
  
Yusuke now stood beside Kagome and was frowning at the hanyou and elder miko sister. "What was that about?"  
  
Kagome looked up with confused sapphire eyes and shrugged helplessly. "Which part? I'm not really sure what any of it was about, except of course Inuyasha being himself."  
  
"Why do you two hate each other so much anyway?" Kagome tore her eyes away from Yusuke's suddenly demanding ones and stared at the ground.  
  
"A fight a long time ago. He did something I don't see myself forgiving anytime soon. Ironically, my sister who never forgets and rarely forgives has found that she can." She could sense Yusuke was frustrated from her reply, obviously Inuyasha had kept his promise not to tell anyone.  
  
"Damnit, can't anyone give me a straight answer?" Kagome looked back up at him, bringing her knees to her chest to rest her hand son them as she tilted her head questioningly.  
  
"And if anyone of my team went up to any of yours, I suppose they'd just spill everything about their entire lives? At the moment my team doesn't trust yours and yours doesn't trust mine. What we eventually have to do is make it so there is one team, not two. Don't expect any straight answers until then. As for Inuyasha, he made a promise, it's that simple." Kagome rested her head on her arms and watched as Yusuke sat down on the ground next to her and glared.  
  
"Stop being so damn logical. It's annoying." Kagome giggled at the angry mutter and shook her head.  
  
"Sometimes it is. But if we went around without thinking, where would we be?" She taunted, knowing that he would count it as logic.  
  
"We'd be a lot better of, probably," Yusuke said, glaring at her. She looked towards Inuyasha and then back to Yusuke pointedly.  
  
"Is Inuyasha better off? Because he'd have no promise to keep if he had stopped to think before he decided to do something unforgivable." Kagome watched Yusuke's mouth open and then snap shut. Fortunately they were both saved from perhaps getting into an argument by a small bundle of fur knocking Kagome backwards to lie flat on the ground.   
  
Kagome quirked an eyebrow up in amusement at the small kitsune demons chocolate covered face. "Shippo, who gave you chocolate? Wait, where'd some one get chocolate?"  
  
"Sango gave it to me. Kurama even said it would help get my energy back. Then after I ate it and tried to talk to them they said I should tell you all about where I used to live. We lived in a nice little community with both demons and humans. Our house was halfway under ground! My best friend used to be a little human girl but almost a year ago something bad happened to her, and then something good, and she got taken away. We had some big fields near our house, and all sorts of insects were there. I bet I can name them all!" Kagome almost whimpered when the kit started naming them all and managed to sit up, kitsune in her lap. Narrowed sapphire eyes saw Sango laughing and Kurama trying to hold back chuckles across the camp.  
  
Kagome turned her glare on Yusuke when he began to laugh, but he ignored her and instead put his attention on the kitsune. "If you know all the names of those, what about the ones around camp? There might be different types around here."  
  
Shippo's forest green eyes widened as he looked at the grass and got off, sitting between Yusuke and Kagome while staring at the ground. He was silent for a minute and Kagome looked up at Yusuke and saw him smirking triumphantly. She rolled her eyes but smiled gratefully when he gave her an offended look.  
  
"Hey! These are different. The ants at home were red! These are more of a dark brown. Then again, the town isn't nearby." Shippo tried to catch the insects on the ground, eventually getting frustrated. Kagome watched curiously as he gathered a few on some pieces of grass, curling them upwards. She heard Yusuke swear in surprise as the pieces suddenly melded together into a smooth tiny green basket. Shippo bent a piece of grass at the top and created a handle.  
  
"Shippo?"  
  
Shippo looked up, not understanding the confusion in her voice. "Yeah Kagome?"  
  
"How'd you do that?" The name of a type of being twinged in the back of her mind and her eyes traveled to the basket. She frowned, but let him answer before jumping to conclusions. She barely took notice as Inuyasha and Kikyou started walking up, paying close attention to Shippo's response.  
  
"That? I don't know. My father says it was because I was something called a maker." Shippo looked around in confusion as all four people froze and Kagome and Kikyou exchanged resigned glances. "Why? Can't everyone do that?"  
  
~_~_~  
  
Hiei snorted as once again the girls had gathered around the fox kit to encourage him to explore his powers. He was a Maker, but that was nothing special. There were always a few in a generation. They could shape natural objects into almost anything, but never into another material. What Hiei was watching wasn't the kit; it was that Botan girl. No one should have been able to do what she did.  
  
The barriers around her mind shouldn't have been that strong either; they didn't match her own power level. There was something else interfering besides her. That his jagan eye couldn't penetrate the defenses meant they were either very strong, or could weave very complicated barriers.  
  
Hiei growled as the girl went to feed her egg again. Ever since he had caught her, in the week since they'd been here she had been feeding the egg the same way everyone else was: in one chunk. Hiei still believed she knew something more than she was sharing. He didn't even moved his head when he heard the branch beside him creak under more weight than it was used to.  
  
  
"Don't you have anything else to do than watch the girls suspiciously? Even I at least talk to them."  
  
"Probably because you like the elder miko hanyou." Hiei ignored the growl that came from the dog-eared boy in favor of continuing to watch the camp.  
  
"I see no reason to socialize with them. We fight alongside them and finish our mission, and go onto the next until this war is finished." Hiei heard the hanyou sigh beside him, obviously disliking his attitude.  
  
"Our mission could take a lot longer than you think. We not only have to find the Shikon no Tama; we have to protect it. And first we have to wait for the stupid eggs to hatch so they can give us the information or ship us off this planet. Either way, we're probably going to be stuck with them for months, maybe years!" Inuyasha stopped, seeing the fire apparition was ignoring him pointedly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and bounded across the trees until he was crouched on a branch over Yusuke's head. Like Hiei, he was watching a girl, but there was no suspicion in his gaze.   
  
"Keh."  
  
Yusuke craned his neck backwards to look up at the half dog demon. "Inuyasha."  
  
"Doesn't anyone have anything to do besides watch a girl? You seem to get along pretty well with the kid; you'd probably be able to get him to explore his powers much easier. Better than him spewing out bowls made from flower petals anyway. Who wants to eat from a bunch of flowers?" Yusuke snickered and simply pointed to Kurama who had gotten through the four girls and now was holding up a perfectly smooth cup made from what looked like pink flower petals. He looked more delighted at what the kit had made than any of the girls had.  
  
"Apparently Kurama does." Inuyasha glowered at Yusuke. Yusuke shrugged. "What? He does. Besides, eventually they'll get past making pretty things into making other objects. If they don't keep draining him everyday between them and the egg the kid's exhausted when he goes to sleep."  
  
"What, is the great Yusuke Urameshi concerned for a little demon kid?" Inuyasha smirked and it was Yusuke's turn to glower.  
  
"Stuff it dog-boy."  
  
"At first I thought you were just pretending to be nice to the damn runt to get closer to the wench." Inuyasha had turned back to watching the girls and didn't bother to turn and feel Yusuke's glare or watch his back stiffen.  
  
Yusuke glared at the hanyou while trying to decide a reply. He knew perfectly well what Inuyasha was talking about, but he hadn't thought he was that obvious. Either that or Inuyasha was just guessing. Finally Yusuke replied. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Do you think I'm stupid? While you talk to the other three bitches, the only girl you actually seek out is Kagome." Inuyasha smirked, and was sure if Yusuke had dog-ears; they'd be lying flat on his head right now if the angry expression on his face was any indication.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Inuyasha looked puzzled and narrowed his eyes. "Yes? So you admit it, not that everyone-"  
  
"Yes I think your stupid." Yusuke grinned and instinctively ducked the claws that had smashed towards his head.  
  
"I'd think if anyone was trying to get closer to someone it's you and Kikyou," Yusuke commented before ducking under another swipe and lashing out with one fist to catch the hanyou across the head. Inuyasha snarled, but the attack didn't have any real power behind it, like his swipes had been purposely slow.  
  
"Damn it, probably because Kikyou's the only one who I can even get near without getting glared at." Inuyasha claws swept forward again, dodging another couple of punches after Yusuke dodged his claws.  
  
"Oh, go to hell Inuyasha, the only reason any of us glare at you is because you're keeping secrets from us. The girls just hate you." Yusuke smirked as Inuyasha lost all of his tempt and actually gave a real attack. Yusuke dodged out of the way of the irate hanyou and settled back to get ready for the comfortable routine of watching Inuyasha destroy everything but him.  
  
"Honestly, can't you two ever just spar, instead of attempting to kill each other every time?" Kurama asked while still holding the bright pink cup that Shippo had melded together.   
  
Yusuke and Inuyasha exchanged a glance and then in unison shook their heads. Yusuke looked around and noticed everyone else had spread out around them to watch. Kikyou was looking on in disapproval, which in turn made Inuyasha wince and Yusuke smirk.  
  
"Inuyasha, I believe that in order for us to work together, we all have to be alive, don't we?" Kikyou asked, looking meaningfully at his claws and the spirit energy blazing around Yusuke.  
  
"Keh, I wouldn't have killed him."  
  
"I think she was talking about me killing you Inuyasha." Yusuke grinned as he heard Kagome choking back a laugh and Inuyasha snarled at him.  
  
"You bastard-"  
  
"You really shouldn't talk about yourself that way Inuyasha." Yusuke dodged as Inuyasha lost control again and lunged at him. He could sense Kurama and Kikyou's exasperation. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. Until Kagome suddenly stopped trying to hide her giggles and was suddenly silent as her head snapped to the west of camp.  
  
"Kagome?" Sango asked. Yusuke and Inuyasha paused, both staring as first Kagome then Kikyou and finally Hiei all stared off into the west.  
  
"Hn." Hiei looked back down at the other three males, his face blank but his whole body tensed as the demons creeping towards them registered on his senses.  
  
"There's a small pack of medium to high level demons coming," Hiei said to the questioning looks. Kikyou confirmed it while Kagome was still staring. Finally, Botan rolled her eyes and tugged on a lock of Kagome's hair while Shippo looked on worriedly.  
  
"Stop counting them Kagome. We don't need the exact number." Botan waited and after a moment Kagome blinked and smiled at Botan, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"19, wait, 20, two of them are twins I think." Kagome watched the boys faces, except for Hiei who didn't show any expression, turn into shock. Inuyasha especially. She really had grown since in the last couple of years.   
  
"How far away?" Yusuke addressed the three of them and Kikyou and Kagome looked at each other, including Hiei in their silent conversation. Finally all three seemed satisfied, though Yusuke was unsure what the hell they'd been doing. He doubted it had been telepathy, they'd just looked at each other.  
  
"About 20 minutes away I think. Maybe 25, depends on if they start rushing as they get closer. They're definitely heading here, and reading we can get says their not here to help. Looks like someone decided we were getting bored and sent us something to do. Or something to kill as the case may be." Even as Kagome spoke the other three girls were heading over to their side of the camp, various weapons coming out from various places near the tents where they had been hidden.  
  
"Shippo, why don't you stay back when the bad demons get her, ok?" Shippo looked up at Kagome with a pout, but obediently trotted off to maneuver his way under the girl's hovercraft, taking a bag of natural objects that he could use for illusions if he needed to, or form them together into a weapon.  
  
Yusuke watched for a minute as Kagome retrieved her bow and got out some arrows. Yusuke looked over to Inuyasha questioningly. He shrugged. "She never could do that before. Bet when she gets closer she'll even know what kind of demons each and every one of them are."  
  
Yusuke shrugged at Inuyasha's statement, and then went to reluctantly get out the standard gun all of them had. With his Spirit Gun and the other attacks, he really had no need of it, but regulations said they had to have it on them during battle.  
  
"Don't worry, I don't like using mine either." Yusuke spun around in shock to see an amused Kagome leaning against a tree a few feet away. He scowled when she let out a small giggle.  
  
"It's not nice to sneak up on people when they're getting ready for a fight. Good way to get yourself killed." Kagome shrugged at his statement before looking pointedly at the eggs all huddled into a pile.  
  
"What do we do with them? We can't really leave them here if there are demons coming you know. Then we could say bye to ever seeing them hatch." Yusuke considered the eggs and looked to where there was a small game path to a smaller clearing they had found. Yusuke grimaced, looking back to the growing eggs and said to the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"Damn it. Stupid eggs, they should develop harder shells."  
  
Kagome shifted and rolled her eyes as Yusuke made no move to do anything about it. She moved over to the hovercrafts and started carefully picking up the eggs and moving them in. She stopped at her, knowing it would take her energy that she needed for the battle if she touched it. Suddenly the egg was gone and she blinked in confusion, tilting her head at the spot where the egg had been laying. Someone coughed and she blushed when she looked up to see Yusuke smirking. She moved aside and he placed the egg in the back of the hovercraft.  
  
"Thanks Yusuke. I'll be right back. The clearing's that way, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Hurry up or we'll kill all the demons without you."  
  
"As if you could. Who saved who when we met again?" Kagome grinned when he scowled at her, her sweet smile not shaken in the least when he continued glaring.  
  
"I had everything under control." Kagome raised an eyebrow at that remark as she got into the hovercraft.  
  
"Sure you did." Yusuke continued scowling for the five minutes it took Kagome to settle the eggs in the other clearing and come back. He peered into the back and didn't notice her egg.  
  
"How did you get your egg out without touching it?"  
  
Kagome grinned and held up her now gloved hands without answering. Yusuke gave her an unimpressed look. "And what if it had taken your energy through the gloves anyway?"  
  
"Then you all would have been lost without me." Kagome's eyes sparkled with mirth as Yusuke looked skywards for a moment in exasperation. He was saved from saying by the smooth skinned demon with pale blue coloring, silky dark green hair, and coal black eyes.  
  
"Lost, would they? If so, they'll be even more lost when I kill you both," It hissed, sounding oddly like a snake.  
  
Yusuke turned to Kagome and she looked slightly guilty at his questioning look. "So I was slightly off in my timing. Can we kill it or what?"  
  
Yusuke looked back at the demon that was getting increasingly annoyed. He shrugged and smirked at her. "Sure. Do you want to get it or shall I?"  
  
----------------------------  
  
Review Responses:  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess   
Yup, Kagome/Yusuke it is. Actually, I've had them all posted in my bio since the beginning of December.  
  
Shadow Stone   
Yes! You got all of them correct! You get the prize of a cyber prize of ramen. Not exactly helpful, but you also get my gleeful maniacal laughter. Isn't that nice?  
  
Sozoku   
Thanks for reading them all! Sorry I haven't updated anything for awhile!  
  
Mystic Rain   
Half right. Inu/Kikyou and Botan/Hiei, but the other two were right. I'm sort of experimenting with other pairings in this story. The only pairing that stays throughout all my stories is Yus/Kag. Review again.  
  
Kiharu   
Because I don't think they are the perfect couple. Certainly they're a nice couple, but I think Yus/Kag is the perfect couple. I just don't share your opinions. But, thanks for the review anyway, and review again!  
  
  
SilentDark   
Thanks, here's another. Sorry it took a bit longer than it should have!  
  
blazingsunstar   
Thank you. Review again.  
  
Winged Knight   
Nope, not Kurama/Botan. And what comes out of the eggs will be a creature in it's own right, but have a mental bond with the one who they chose to feed them energy. So, nope, not going to make him an adult warrior. It will be useful protection for times when they need Shippo's Maker powers in battle however.  



	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
-----------------------  
Chapter 6 – Let's work as a team! Or not.  
  
Sango jumped back from a demon, wincing as she remembered that the twin of this demon was behind her. She braced herself demon claws, but all she saw as she landed was the flash of a green whip and a demon falling to pieces. Sango looked up and flashed a quick grin at Kurama. "Thanks for that."  
  
She jumped back towards the other demon, gun shooting off and making the demon's head disintegrate. Sango looked down at the gun in consternation. "Looks like these guns are useful."  
  
Sango ducked beneath another demon's claws, rolling to the left, one hand shooting out to get the boomerang she had earlier lost. After destroying the demon in front of her, she took a chance to look around and find out how everyone else was doing.  
  
"Botan, duck!" Sango called as she spotted Botan off to one side, a demon coming in behind her. Obediently, Botan ducked down, whirling around and shooting the demon, bright stream of golden energy coming from the gun and throwing the demon back.  
  
"You're welcome." Sango jumped as Kurama spoke from beside her, apparently having finished off a few demons on his own.  
  
"It appears we're almost done with this group. But, where are our leaders?" Kurama's eyes darted over the battlefield as the others began finishing of their last demons.  
  
"Good questions. They'd better not have gotten themselves in trouble." Sango winced as she turned, limping on one leg as she went forward. Kurama noticed but said nothing himself, one arm held awkwardly against him.  
  
"Everyone seems to be fine besides some broken bones and sprains. No deep wounds, and everyone should heal quickly," Kurama noted.  
  
"Except for Inuyasha. As always, he has a hole in his stomach," a voice said behind them. The duo turned to find Kikyou, looking unharmed except for a gash on her head, and Inuyasha, using Tetsusaiga to hold himself up.  
  
"Keh. I get an injury from protecting her and she complains about it." Inuyasha emitted low growls sullenly, obviously put out with Kikyou. Kikyou shrugged, not bothering to look at the inu hanyou.  
  
"I didn't need protection. My miko energy doesn't need a bow to be used. I thought you would have realized that with Kagome." Inuyasha ignored Kikyou's statement that proved he didn't need the hole in his stomach and looked around, sniffing cautiously.   
  
"So why the hell are our leaders not here? The battles over, shouldn't they be here making sure everything's ok?"  
  
"Hn," came the amused reply from Hiei. Hiei was standing on a tree, eyes looking pointedly at the other end of the camp.  
  
The other five teens stared at Hiei a moment before slowly making their way over to where he was looking. They stopped and Kikyou lifted up her hands to cover her face in embarrassment. "Please tell me that isn't happening!"  
  
"It's _my _demon!" A female voice hissed in barely audible tones.  
  
"I wish I could," Inuyasha said, his ears beginning to lie flat on his head.  
  
"No, it's _my_ demon!" Came the reply to the earlier statement.  
  
"They can't really be that immature, can they?" Five heads turned to stare at Botan after she spoke before she sighed. "Right, I guess I forgot who we were talking about."  
  
"It's mine!"  
  
"No, it's mi-"  
  
"Excuse me," Kurama interrupted the two arguing leaders. His gaze fell on the poor demon who was being pulled back and forth by Kagome and Yusuke and sighed.  
  
"Perhaps we could all get information out of this one? We killed all the other's you see."  
  
Kagome immediately let go of the demon and began blushing. Yusuke smirked. "She started it."  
  
Sango smacked her palm against her forehead as Kagome turned to give Yusuke a piece of her mind. "Who cares? Both of you stop it! Act your age, and your rank! Because right now, you're acting like children fighting over a toy!"  
  
Silence settled over the clearing after Sango stopped shouting and Kagome looked down apologetically. Yusuke simply crossed his arms and stayed silent.  
  
Kurama cleared his throat and stepped towards the demon, noticing its wild-eyed look. "Excuse me, but would you be willing to answer a few questions?"  
  
"Like its going to just-" Yusuke began heatedly.  
  
"Will you keep me away from them?" The demon asked, orange eyes darting to Kagome and Yusuke. The two exchanged glances and smirked proudly. To one side, Inuyasha rolled his eyes.  
  
"Of course, we just want to know why your here," Kurama said, trying to soothe the demon.  
  
"To get the Shikon no Tama of course! The only way to do that was to get to your camp." Everyone stared at the demon for a moment before Yusuke snorted derisively.  
  
"Moron. We're looking for the Shikon no Tama. We don't have it yet."  
  
"Of course you do! The Guardian has it; and-" The demon was cut off as it suddenly screeched, a bright pink light surrounding it before the demon disappeared in a cloud of ash. Everyone turned to look at a sheepish looking Kagome.  
  
"Sorry. My emotions sometimes get the best of me and my powers respond to them... I don't suppose anyone else still has a demon?" Kagome smiled weakly under the angry glares of three boys and one girls.  
  
"Damnit, I wanted to kill it," Yusuke complained, ignoring that they could have gotten good information out of it. The others all seemed to forget about the demon in the face of his immaturity, and Yusuke waited until they went of with sighs and groans to various places around camp. Finally he turned to Kagome and gave her considering stare.  
  
"So, why'd you really kill it?"  
  
Kagome jumped when he asked her that, expecting yelling or swearing, but not an actual thought out question. She covered up her reaction gracefully. "Exactly why I said. My emotions slipped and I accidentally killed it."  
  
Kagome slipped away towards the girls' tents before he could say anything in response, murmuring something about being tired before leaving Yusuke to stare after her. He shook his head, a confused scowl on his face as his gaze followed Kagome. "What is going on here?"  
  
"Secrets. They all have them, Kikyou and Kagome will do anything to hide them." Yusuke pivoted around to see Inuyasha gazing at him in what could only be concern.  
  
"Don't get to attached to Kagome. Her and Kikyou's secret is dangerous, and getting attached to something that could die off at any moment isn't a good way to go." Inuyasha was quite for once, this being one of the few times he wasn't trying to get his point across with swears and insults.  
  
"We could all die at any moment, that's what we do. What's so different about those two? And why are you allowed to get attached to Kikyou but I can't get attached to Kagome?" Yusuke's anger grew as he spoke and he saw Inuyasha wince, anger replacing the fleeting concern the hanyou had only a minute before had for his friend.  
  
"Who said I was? I'm not! And at least no one seeks us out for a stupid-" Inuyasha shut his mouth suddenly, then shook his head.   
  
"Never mind. Those demons were pretty hard for what we usually get. The girls are already beginning to drift off, I can tell. We've all used up most of our energy, I'm going to get some sleep." Inuyasha bounded off, not bothering to even look towards the boy's tent. There was a reason they only had one. Inuyasha and Hiei always slept in a tree, and it wasn't completely unknown for all four of them to set up their sleeping bags outside. Not tonight. Tonight Inuyasha knew Kurama and Yusuke would be sleeping before they even finished lying down.  
  
Inuyasha's golden gaze strayed to the girl's tent, and he found gray eyes staring back at him. _'Kikyou..Did you know I almost told your secret tonight? It won't happen again. I made a promise, and I'll keep it.'  
  
_The gray eyes moved, going into their tent, and only one raven-haired girl was left alone. Inuyasha ignored the lonely figure of Kagome and shut his eyes. Within a few minutes the silver haired half demon had wandered off into sleep. Eventually, only the leaders were left awake, one sitting silently beside their tent, the other watching and getting more frustrated by the moment at how many secrets were being covered up.  
  
They would never be able to work as a true team at this rate.  
  
~-~  
  
Shippo's tail twitched as he watched the boy down below. Just a little bit closer and he'd have him. Shippo was perched on tree, having decided on a new way to get rid of his boredom. It had been a few days since the demons attacked, and everyone had healed nicely. Except, since then, everything had been quiet, and the little kitsune demon couldn't help but feel like they should be doing _something. _These were warriors, they should be fighting.  
  
So Shippo had come to the conclusion he would liven things up a bit. The demon flung himself off of his branch, waiting until his claws began to fall through silky strands. Shippo's paws tightened around the silver locks of hair and a pained howl was set off. "Damnit, you stupid little piece of - Ow! Let go of my hair runt!"  
  
Shippo simply clung tighter as the hanyou spewed obscenities, suddenly realizing the flaw in his plan. The instant he let go the hanyou would tear him apart! Shippo did the only thing he could think of. He kicked off of the hanyou, heading towards the girls' part of camp with a yell. "Kagome! Help me!"  
  
Hiei watched with interest as two blurs passed underneath him. The crimson-eyed demon shook his head, focusing on his target. The Botan girl had gone off to walk in the woods near the edge of camp. Hiei smirked. Time for some answers.  
  
No one noticed their missing two members as Kagome sped out of her tent and scooped up Shippo with one hand, the other held out, palm up straight in front of Inuyasha. "Why are you picking on poor Shippo?"  
  
Inuyasha stared at her a moment as he skidded to a stop and his ears flickered. He could have sworn he heard a snicker from nearby. His amber gaze flickered around the camp for a moment before growling at Kagome. "Poor? That fuc-"  
  
"Don't swear in front of Shippo!" Kagome glared as she cut of the inu hanyou. The snickers became more pronounced as Inuyasha took a step back.  
  
"Keh." Inuyasha gave his typical reply, sending daggers towards the source of the snickers that he could barely make out. Stupid forest green uniforms, it made it hard to see his teammates, just like the girls brown ones did.  
  
Kagome waited until Inuyasha was on the other side of camp before scowling in the direction where Yusuke was laughing. Seeing that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon, Kagome turned a frown on Shippo. "You know, jumping on his head wasn't the smartest idea."  
  
Shippo's eyes widened comically and he grinned sheepishly. "You saw it? Why'd you stand up for me then, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome smirked. "I liked seeing Inuyasha squirm."  
  
"Not the nicest thing to do, was it Kagome?" Yusuke asked as he walked out from a small grove of trees near the girls' tents. Kagome eyes turned dark and her mouth set itself in a grim line.  
  
"I could do the likes of that one hundred times over and he still wouldn't have paid for the things he's done." Shippo jumped out of her arms at the dark tone her voice had taken before she disappeared quietly back inside her tent. Yusuke tried to glare, but it seemed to come out more of a pout. He looked down at Shippo. Shippo looked up at him. They both shrugged and began walking away.  
  
"I'm bored." Shippo said suddenly a minute later. Yusuke groaned as suddenly a scream shot out, and he glared at the kitsune.   
  
"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Yusuke, despite his comment, began to run anyway, recognizing the two auras' that were coming from the direction of the scream.  
  
One was Botan, who was obviously the one who screamed. Yusuke scowled and ran faster, wondering exactly what had happened this time. _'Damnit Hiei, I'm supposed to be the one who does something stupid. If you've done something to Botan, Kagome's going to kill you. And I'm not sure I could stop her.'  
  
_-~-  
  
Botan had gotten herself into a situation all right. Hiei had apparently decided he was going to get past those blocks. He only needed a few of them down. And, some of them were hers, so if she agreed to pull them down, he would be able to open the other barriers. Not only would he be able to see them, so would she. She had said to herself that she didn't want to know. She had friends here, but what if she could have access to more information about the Shikon no Tama? Farther back in time, more details had been known about the Shikon. Perhaps her past life could help them. Besides, no matter how she denied it, didn't everyone want to know their past?  
  
She did, which was why she had put down the few barriers that she had created by herself. Hiei had taken off his bandana and Botan was shocked to see a third glowing eye. _'That explains it. Jagan eye...but...don't those things weaken you? How is he so strong then?'  
  
_Botan's train of thought stopped as she felt something tugging at her memories. Slowly, a few images seeped in. Her eyes widened. So many people, and all of them were dead.   
  
"Wait...don't...I don't want to see anymore...I don't want to know."  
  
Hiei shrugged. "You made a deal with me. You held up your end, now it's my turn. Don't you want to know?"  
  
"How did you even figure out I didn't know? You couldn't possibly have read anyone else's mind... Kagome doesn't know much... Kikyou probably knows a bit more... I don't understand." She stalled; keeping his attention fixed on the conversation instead of her mind. Apparently this annoyed him.  
  
Instead of gently falling like they had been, the barriers all shattered at once. Botan was briefly reminded of a window exploding outward, shards falling on the people below. Except, there was no below here, and only one person. There was also a lot more than one "window".  
  
Botan screamed as pain ripped through her mind, only slightly before the memories came rushing in. Centuries of existence swept through her mind and Botan fainted. A human mind was not meant to experience all of those things at once, even if the human mind wasn't exactly human.  
  
Hiei briefly wished he could join her in unconsciousness as her memories flooded his senses before he quickly withdrew, shock swimming through his senses. She, this blue haired girl, had once been a guide to spirits and an underling of the prince of the Spirit World. Hiei didn't even notice as the other began filtering into the clearing. His mind barely recognized one girl taking one glance between him and Botan before her hands began glowing. He frowned slightly at the nearly identical but older girl behind her. Something flashed in the memories, before one yell shoved him back into reality.  
  
"Hiei, damnit, move!"  
  
Hiei leapt away from the glowing miko, taking refuge in a tree as he struggled to bring himself away from the memories. Kurama looked between Kagome and Yusuke and backed away. In a situation like this, it was best not to get anyone angrier than they were. Unfortunately, Yusuke never did think things through.  
  
"That the hell Yusuke? He hurt Botan, and your just going to let him get away with it?' Kagome seethed, and Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly. He had seen her angrier before, but he never wanted to see her this angry. It hadn't ended well last time.   
  
"Shit," Inuyasha muttered as he backed away towards Kurama. "She's going to kill everything demonic nearby, including us and Shippo if she gets any angrier."  
  
"That powerful Inuyasha? It takes a lot to kill us?" Inuyasha just glanced at Kurama as the red head spoke worriedly.   
  
"Let's just say she has another power source. And besides that, two years ago she almost killed me when she lost the little control she had then. Usually her miko powers are dormant. But when they finally began to activate, the angrier she got, the stronger they were. Her emotions power her. And damn, is she pissed! Let's be glad Yusuke's not a demon."  
  
Yusuke was struggling not to blow up at Kagome himself, having a silent glaring contest with her as their powers rose with their emotions. Finally Yusuke answered her earlier complaints. "We don't even know what happened yet Kagome!"  
  
"She's unconscious. It's his fault. All I need to know. Aren't you supposed to discipline your teammates when they do something wrong? What, because he's your friend we go against regulations now?"  
  
"Discipline maybe, but you were going to kill him! Even if you don't care about that, we need to have a whole team for the mission!" Yusuke shouted angrily. Instantly he saw that perhaps that was a bad conclusion to jump to as Kagome's face turned into horrified shock.  
  
"You absolute moron! Even when I'm angry I know how to control my powers! I would have hurt him, but I never would have killed him. As for the mission, we have to be _one _team for that. Apparently you only care about your half. I care about mine, and I was beginning to care about yours. But it seems I can't trust anyone of you." Kagome stomped off, leaving the other girls to follow her back to camp. Sango had slipped in behind them and she picked up Botan, following her friend back to camp.  
  
Kikyou regarded the boys with a blank face. Finally she simply shook her head. "Fools," was all she said as she turned and walked back to camp, leaving the boys to sort out what happened on their own.  
  
------------------------  
Review Responses:   
  
GreenShadow   
I hope you've read it all by now! Thank you for reviewing.  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess   
It's alright, I doubt many other people did, if anyone at all. Well, a couple of people did, but most people don't.  
  
Arcia   
Yup, those are the pairings, as posted last chapter.  
  
SilentDark   
Unfortunately not. These aren't exactly like Spirit Beasts, they are a species (or maybe four) and therefore have a certain body type (or four).  
  
blazingsunstar   
Thanks.  
  
Shadow Stone   
My chapter was yummy? Cool! Thanks for the review; here's your update.  
  
Buffybot76   
Hey, that pairing will come in a few chapters. Events sort of crash into each other right after on another after this chapter until we get to _them. _Then things slow down again for a bit, but we'll meet them soon enough and that pairing will be revealed.  
  
Winged Knight   
Your welcome and I'll try!  
  
rogue solus   
Nope, sorry, those aren't the pairings. They are Kag/Yus and San/Kur, but the other two are switched around.  



	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
  
--------------------------  
  
Chapter 7 - Secrets  
  
Three adults were once again sitting in the living room of Tenashu Higurashi. Blue eyes were conflicted as his mouth set itself in a grim line. "They're alright now. A few hours ago...well, let's just say the two groups are going to be feeling repercussions from the two most recent events for weeks to come. One good thing has come of this. If you can call it good."  
  
Genkai glared at the raven-haired man. "Out with it Tenashu. What has happened now?"  
  
"Oh, nothing much. The Key of Flames has unlocked the Prophet, the Shikon no Tama's Guardian was revealed, and the Controller and Guardian briefly experienced the full power of the Shikon Jewel. That especially will have repercussions. Now that they have unlocked it once, they will be tied together." Tenashu began grinning at the end as the other two turned harsh glares in his direction.  
  
"And you did not call us when these events began happening. Why?"  
  
"Because I was in a vision! I was worried about them, I thought they were going to get into a fight with each other for awhile there. My Kagome and that boy certainly have matching tempers." Tenashu frowned slightly. Eventually they'd start trusting each other again, and Tenashu was sure that boy liked his daughter. He wasn't sure if he liked that. He didn't have anything against the boy, it was just, she was so young.  
  
Not even realizing the strange looks he was getting from his companions he ran one hand through his thick black hair in frustration. He hadn't even seen the girl outside of visions in almost a decade and he still thought he could have a choice in the matter? No, he wouldn't be able to interfere at all, it was their choice, and only theirs.  
  
"And of my brother?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly, breaking Tenashu out of his thoughts.   
  
"He's alright. A little shocked. He thought Kikyou was the guardian. No one tried to purify him this time though." Tenashu grinned and Sesshoumaru's lips quirked up slightly into an almost smile.  
  
"Perhaps there is hope for little brother after all."  
  
-~-  
  
Kikyou rested one hand on her sister's shoulder soothingly. She heard a small sigh escape her sister's control, the only expression of her anger she had shown so far. Everyone counted Kikyou as the one who hid her feelings, but the more Kagome was hurt by something the more she strived to be cheerful.  
  
Obviously she had been wounded deeply by the boy's accusation. Kikyou frowned as Sango walked up, supporting Botan. The blue-haired girl stared at the ground, and Kikyou sensed something different about her. Older, wiser, and whatever it was, it was weighing the normally cheerful girl down. Kikyou's expression turned to the forest, the last place they had seen the boys, and where she could still sense them. "Damn them."  
  
Three sets of eyes settled on Kikyou's angry countenance in surprise. Kagome was the first to shift her gaze to Botan. Botan met her eyes briefly and Kagome felt the shielded jewel around her neck pulse suddenly, as if in recognition. Kagome saw the terrible way Botan's eyes seemed older now, as if a thousand lives had been forced upon her. Kagome wondered if perhaps they had.  
  
"Stupid arrogant foolish moron." Kagome muttered under her breath. Botan's lips twitched and then she smiled slyly, a look that put relieved faces on the other two girls.  
  
"Which one? I know which one I'd be talking about, but I'm sure I missed a lot, and I certainly know who your thoughts have been about most of the time we've been here." Kagome's face flushed but her expression darkened.   
  
"Yusuke of course. He accused me of trying to kill Hiei. Hurt yes, kill, never. So stupid!" Due to the lack of gender on the last part of the sentence, the other three girls weren't sure exactly whom the stupid part was referring to, but suddenly two small paws tugged on Kagome's shirt.   
  
Automatically, before she even looked, Kagome opened her arms. Shippo jumped up, but this time he was there to give comfort to her, not receive it. Shippo winced as Kagome held on to his tail a bit too tightly, but she quickly let go and smoothed down the fur. He nuzzled into her throat and he felt some of her muscles relax at the soothing gesture.  
  
Botan grinned at Shippo, pushing the awful memories of her other life to the back of her mind. She would take time go through it for information later. Now she knew a few more things she had only guessed before. Along with unlocking her memories, a new part of her that had been waiting had come up. The Prophecy was being put in motion. Now she was the Prophet, and only one other alive knew the full prophecy. Botan shuddered at the thought. She hadn't wanted to get away from all the death and had been instead been thrown into the middle of a prophecy about the object causing it. But, she could not abandon her friends, and one of the girls was Guardian.  
  
"You already know my take on all boys are stupid. After Miroku, I'm not really one to trust them, and Yusuke definitely jumped to conclusions, but..." Sango trailed off, not wanting to offend her friends.  
  
"But you have this feeling we need them. And we will. I just wish we could trust them, I thought, maybe, that we could have, that I could tell at least Yusuke. Looks like I'm still that naive little girl, huh Kikyou?" Kagome's smile was bitter and Kikyou's heart went out to her younger sister.  
  
"No, he was looking out for his teammate. Perhaps you trust too easily, but maybe eventually we can all learnt to trust each other and all can know of our burden." Kikyou sighed at Sango's confused look. "But first, we must trust each other. We all have secrets, and it's time Kagome and I told the largest of ours. Perhaps later others can be shared."  
  
"Yes, trust will be necessary if we want to live. The Prophecies will come to pass, and we must trust each other if we want to live," Botan said quietly.  
  
Shippo lifted his head and stared at Botan fearfully. "Prophecies... Daddy didn't like those. Said no son of his was going to be in danger like that. Why'd he say that?"  
  
"What are these Prophecies? What secret are you two talking about?" Sango looked frantically around as Botan sent a pained expression towards Shippo.  
  
"Sorry little Maker, but destiny can't always be denied." Botan gave a small smile, more for the kitsune's benefit than any true feeling behind it.  
  
Kagome and Kikyou exchanged glances and motioned for everyone to sit down. Kagome folded her legs and settled Shippo in her lap. "Our secret has to do majorly with our mission. Half of our mission was done years before we received it. I am the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama."  
  
As Kagome spoke she reached around her neck and pulled up the chain to show a perfectly round pink sphere. It shone in Kagome's hand, the pink color a light tone, much lighter than legends had sometimes described the destructive jewel.  
  
"I don't feel any energy from it. You guys have to be joking, right? You guys wouldn't ever keep something like this from me." Sango's pleading look was unheeded, as no comfort could be had from the two equally quiet and blank siblings. Shippo stared at the jewel in wonder. He didn't mind that much. If Kagome could guard the Shikon no Tama, she certainly wouldn't have any trouble keeping him safe, right?  
  
Kagome attempted to smile comfortingly. It didn't work and she sighed, her eyes closing to push away the picture of her friends doubting face. "I'm sorry Sango, but it's true. I'll show you."  
  
Kikyou didn't have time to shout a warning as she felt the boys' aura's drawing near. Her sister was already unraveling the shield on the jewel for Sango to see. When it was released, the song seemed to sing it's freedom, and the boys at the edge of the clearing all stopped in the same instant, staring at the four girls and kitsune child.  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes at Kagome's panicked expression. She exchanged a glance with Kikyou. He almost chuckled when he heard her mutter, "Oops," to her sister. Here they were, coming back to make amends and Kagome picked the perfect time to take out the jewel.   
  
Inuyasha suddenly frowned. Wait a second, "What the hell? I thought you were the Guardian!" One of Inuyasha's clawed fingers pointed accusingly at Kikyou. Her cold and aloof facade was put on and she sniffed.  
  
"You assume too much Inuyasha."  
  
Yusuke shuddered at the power emanating from the jewel and turned to his companions. "Some one say that's not what I think it is."  
  
Kurama looked up, his gaze drawn from the jewel by Yusuke's outburst. His newly golden eye color was all the answer Yusuke needed. "Sorry Yusuke. But that's the Shikon no Tama. At least we know what our 'friend' was keeping from us now."  
  
The uncharacteristic sneer laced into his tone showed exactly how much control over his Youko aspects Kurama had with the jewel nearby. Yusuke sighed and led the way to the girls. Surprisingly considering the way the jewel drew demons to it, Hiei hung back to the rear. Of course, that could have had to do with the barely perceptible flinch Botan had given upon seeing Hiei.  
  
Kagome shifted her weight nervously as the boys approached and after briefly seeing the varying degrees of anger on their faces; she looked towards the ground.  
  
Kurama was the first to speak, his eyes still having flashes of Youko's golden color. "Excuse me, but that is the Shikon no Tama correct? When did you find that? Perhaps only recently?"  
  
Kurama was intentionally allowing them a way out before things got out of hand, hoping that it was the truth. Kagome even seemed to be considering taking it. Inuyasha decided it was time to clear things up. His promise was null and void now that they had revealed they had it.  
  
"That's bullshit Kurama. One of them has been the Guardian since their father left. You know, I never really thought about which parent wasn't the real one. I guess I know now. The jewel can only be paused down through the bloodlines. Kagome's had it since she was a little girl. Almost a decade now if I have the damn timelines right. And I do, don't I mikos?" Inuyasha smirked, enjoying the revenge he was getting, though he couldn't help feel a pang of guilt as Kikyou caught her breath. Kagome only briefly looked at him, but that was enough to make him wish he hadn't said things so harshly.  
  
"A whole decade? And you didn't see fit to tell us that the damn jewel we've been looking for has been right under our noses the whole fuckin' time? You stupid-" Yusuke was surprised when a spark of anger appeared in Kagome's eyes and she cut him off.  
  
"It was my _duty _to keep it a secret. I promised, as many have before me, to keep it a secret unless absolutely necessary. It was necessary now to show Sango." Kagome lifted her chin, determined to accept the insults as long as she knew she had done it out of necessity.  
  
Yusuke didn't much care about the reasons right now, he was angry enough to rip her to shreds. That jewel was the whole reason for their mission. "Necessary? Who was it who thought it was necessary to be able to trust us and said she couldn't back in the woods? You, you damn hypocrite."   
  
Yusuke glared at her before taking a step forward, hand reaching for the jewel. A slim, pale and feminine hand reached forward to hold his wrist in a surprising strong grip. Yusuke was startled to see Kikyou holding him back. "It is hers to hold. If you take it, she will not be able to hide it from demons as she has been doing. I suggest you do no take it."  
  
"Now who's jumping to conclusions? I just wanted to hold it." The two began to glare at each other when Kagome moved to break it, carefully placing the Shikon Jewel in Yusuke's outstretched hand. For an instant, both were touching it, and Yusuke heard Kagome gasp. There was power there, more power than he had felt. That was only the surface power, pure strength. This, this must be where the wishes came from. This power could be used for anything. It was raw and it whispered that he was the one who could control it. Then Kagome jerked her hand away.  
  
Yusuke almost choked now, for as soon as she did the feeling faded and all he felt was the normal power that most demons felt. It baited him to add it's power to his own, but after feeling the real power inside the Shikon no Tama, this held no attraction to him. He could see why most demons wanted it, but he was sure none had seen beyond the surface power. Except perhaps Resurga, who had used it in the beginning knew, before it had been truly finished, but even he would probably be surprised by it.  
  
Yusuke held out his hand and dropped the jewel back into her hand, seeing the wide-eyed look that had appeared on her face at whatever the jewel had just done. "Wow... Damn." He searched Kagome's face and found her face confused to, but he couldn't be sure if that was faked or not. He blinked as another emotion flickered in her eyes. Fear. "Damn," he repeated quietly, but there was no wonder in it this time.  
  
Kurama felt the power suddenly disappear and the jewel's seductive song was wrapped up in a shield. Both parts of him felt relieved and he acknowledged the girl was a good Guardian. He was left to wonder why the jewel had glowed so brightly when both Kagome and Yusuke were touching it, but when only one touched it, the jewel simply shone like it always did.  
  
Inside Kurama, the part of him that was still a thief was howling for him to ignore the jewel's curious reaction and steal it before it was too late. He ignored it, pushing that part of Youko far from his consciousness.  
  
"What was that? Why did the jewel begin glowing?" Sango was the first one to voice the question everyone one was wondering. Slowly eight pairs of eyes turned to Kagome. Shippo, who as still sitting in her lap, was the first to notice the shaken look on Kagome's face. She didn't even appear to have heard the question.  
  
Kagome slowly put the chain back where it belonged, the jewel hidden under her clothing. Her hands trembled slightly and she was sure her eyes probably had that wild-eyed look that even Kikyou had only seen twice. One of the other times also having to with the jewel.  
  
The Shikon no Tama had just opened itself. It couldn't do that. It shouldn't have done that. Yusuke could have done anything with it. The Shikon no Tama was powerful normally, but that was adding to the physical strength. A demon did not automatically become smarter or be able to shape worlds. Once in awhile wishes could be pulled from it, especially from the Guardians, but that was nothing like what the Shikon was showing when she and Yusuke had both touched it. At the edge of her awareness she heard a concerned voice. Only when Shippo carefully placed on paw on her did she realize that they'd asked a question.  
  
"What? Oh, t-that. I don't really know. It was strange. The jewel..." Kagome trailed off, not sure how to explain it. She wasn't sure if she could. She didn't know why, or even all of what she'd felt when it the power had shown itself.  
  
Yusuke was eyeing her suspiciously, as if doubting her statement. Considering the recent events, she couldn't blame him, and she hadn't told the whole the whole truth then either. Hiei's eyes seemed to be glowing slightly, and Kurama's eyes had returned to their natural green, but flashes of gold appeared randomly amongst the green as he struggled to control the demon inside him.  
  
Inuyasha had sat down next to Kikyou, looking slightly stunned. The ease that Kagome had woven the shield had stunned him more than anything else had. He had always thought, that even with Kagome's new strength, Kikyou was the better miko. But after the shield had been set, he couldn't even feel it. Not the shield, or the Shikon no Tama.   
  
Sango was silent; trying to come to grips with the secret her friends had been keeping. Kikyou wanted to comfort her, but she was more worried about the look on her younger sister's face right now. Her sister was afraid. And Kikyou wanted to know why.  
  
Kagome suddenly rose, handing Shippo absently over to Yusuke. She looked around at everyone, who were all kneeling or sitting now and gave a wan smile. "Excuse me." Then she began to walk off, the calm strides too calm and her whole body seemed to radiate nervousness and confusion. And when this was about the Shikon no Tama, that also included fear.  
  
Botan studied Yusuke and then turned to watch Kagome's retreating back. She scowled briefly, then shook her head. She gave a small smile. It would work out ok. It had to. The Prophecies were already being set in motion. And now, before they could move any farther, it would depend on Kagome and Yusuke figuring out what had happened. They had to, or Resurga would not win. And that was not a pretty future.  
  
-------------------  
  
Questions/Things to address:  
  
The Yusuke demon/human subject, mostly to Winged Knight: He doesn't become a demon until later in the series. He only has a bit of demon blood in him, but in a very dangerous fight it gets awakened and takes over his body. Then, Raizen being his great ancestor, was the one who 'fathered' his genetics, and Raizen then became his father, instead of his way distant ancestor, because now he was a Toushin. Confused? So was I. Go search for Yuu Yuu Hakusho Realms for better information on everything. If you don't want to search for it, it should be in one of the parts about demons, especially S-level ones, search for the word _majin_, which is a human who became a demon because he was descended from one of the Toushin's, but kept his human powers. At least, that's all the reliable info I can get about it. It's possible I'm wrong, but that's what I'm going for now. After all, wouldn't have someone have sensed he was a demon earlier? So, right now, he's not a demon yet.  
  
Thanks to everyone else who reviewed: Eris Goddess of Chaos, Fire Kitsune Goddess, Hokuikai the Star of the Sea, Arcia, blazingsunstar, and SilverKnight7.  



	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: This took awhile. I coudn't end it for some reason, so the last couple of pages I'm not really satisfied with it. Still, I hope most of you enjoy it, as many of you simply like to read it, but if any of you want to give me advice on anything with this, go ahead. I need it, because the story is being awful stubborn.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
  
------------------------  
  
Chapter 8 -- Overwhelmed  
  
The campsite was still silent a day after the Shikon no Tama had been revealed. Kikyou and Inuyasha seemed to be the only two talking at all, and even that was rare do to the tense atmosphere. Sango was frequently seen training at one edge of the camp, glaring at anyone who came near. Kurama frequently ventured into the forest, mumbling the excuse of looking for new weapons.  
  
Botan seemed almost normal, and for a few hours, Hiei had thought that the memories hadn't affected her at all. Until she'd wandered off into the forest. When he'd followed, she was sobbing her heart out to the forest floor. Hesitantly, the fire apparition had walked towards her. Except she'd flinched away from him. He had narrowed his eyes and jumped away, angry for no apparent reason.  
  
Yusuke sighed, studying the occupants of the camp. He himself had been sitting against a tree most of the day. He was trying to keep in sight. Shippo was helping him. Though how falling asleep was helping Yusuke it was hard to understand. Yusuke knew where almost everyone else. Except for the girl he most needed to talk to. Kagome hadn't been around since this morning. Even last night she'd crept in late, slept a few hours to let everyone know she was all right, and crept out. At least, that was the impression Yusuke got from the very brief conversation he had had with Kikyou.  
  
She also seemed to be shielding herself, as he couldn't sense her anywhere. But it was frustrating. And once in awhile, he swore he got flashes of fear that went through him, but he knew they weren't his. Kagome, through the whole time they had been on the planet, rarely showed fear, especially not in the degrees he was feeling now. And he was sure it was her.  
  
Finally, fed up with the odd feelings in his system and annoyed that she was apparently avoiding everyone, he went to go see his egg. Yusuke snorted, kicking the odd rock that got in his way as he walked. Even Sango had stayed in sight. But no, the little traitorous Guardian had to go and sulk by herself.  
  
Yusuke eyed the eggs as he entered the clearing. They were much larger now. His golden green egg was one of the largest. Kagome was around the same, but he was pretty sure his was larger. Of course, they were probably all pretty close to hatching. He put one hand on the egg and grimaced at the lurching feeling he got as the energy left his body and entered the egg. Then, surprisingly, he began to talk to the egg, apparently not noticing when something moved out of the corner of his eye. "Some stuff happened yesterday egg. Basically everyone got mad at each other. It was pretty stupid, but that's what happens when people keep secrets."  
  
Kagome had been surprised to see Yusuke stride into the clearing, and had quickly ducked down behind her large dark blue egg. Her eyes widened when she heard Yusuke begin to speak to it. She would have giggled if she weren't so depressed over the jewel. And confused about what was happening. And above all, afraid of what was going on with it. Still, he was talking to the egg, and she felt a half smile grace her lips affectionately.  
  
Deciding she would have to go somewhere else to be alone, she slowly began to slink away in another direction, blue eyes widening fractionally when he began to talk again.  
  
"And then of course, I've been looking for Kagome. But apparently--" he stopped, spinning around and his arms grabbing Kagome across the waist and beneath her chest as she stood frozen, tensing to run. "--she's been avoiding everyone."  
  
Kagome winced at the tone, then almost gasped as she felt the anger rolling off him in waves. Then she began struggling. He held firm no matter what she did, but when her elbow went into his gut he hissed slightly. She was female, small, and looked innocent, but she had definitely taken to training well. "Stop! That hurts, damn it!"  
  
"Then let me go!" Kagome yelled back, trying it again. She wasn't able to this time as the arms under her chest locked around her arms too. She howled with frustration.  
  
"No way in hell. I want answers. What the hell was that?" Yusuke kept his grip tight as she jerked around. The fear was rolling off her in waves, and he desperately hoped it was still of the jewel.  
  
Kagome sighed and stopped struggling. This was getting her no where. She let herself lean back into him wearily. She could feel his shock at the action. She was tired, mentally and physically, and if he was going to keep her here anyway, she might as well get as much comfort from the fact as she could. She could fell the suspicion to, but nonetheless his arms loosened up and he let her arms go free.  
  
"What was what?" she asked curiously.  
  
Yusuke frowned at the question, but he was even more curious about how he was feeling some of what she was. He knew she was tired. Really tired. He could feel it. And it was odd. "You know. The glowing! What was with that?"  
  
Yusuke glared at her angrily as she stiffened and began trying to remove his arms. Apparently this wasn't something she wanted to talk about. He tightened his grip again. "Kagome! Just answer the question and stop being so damn stubborn!"  
  
"I don't know! I mean, I mean, I know what basically happened, but the glowing, and it opening itself, that shouldn't have happened! It's not supposed to! Wishes once in awhile, but that? I don't know, Yusuke!" Yusuke's eyes widened at the pure fear radiating from her and quickly pulled them both down, letting her go and turning her to face him. Worried brown eyes looked into fearful blue ones. What was worse was that he could feel the amount of fear she was feeling. He had to wonder what kind of pain the jewel had caused for her to fear it so.  
  
"Calm down Kagome. Whatever else, it only happened when we both touched the jewel, right? So we just don't touch it at the same time anymore. Besides that, everything is all right, right? Everyone a bit mad, ok a lot mad, and you kept a major secret but..." Yusuke stopped a bit late, realizing he should have stopped after his third sentence. He panicked slightly as she flinched. How the hell was he supposed to help her?  
  
Kagome suddenly laughed, after she flinched, she realized he was as confused as she was. She could practically feel it. Or maybe she even could. Like she could feel him panicking a bit. "Yusuke, it's all right, I'll be ok, don't panic, I can take care of myself."  
  
Kagome wondered what she'd said wrong when his eyes narrowed. "Who said I was panicked?" He knew she had actually felt it. Like he was feeling some of her emotions. Now he wanted to know why, and how he could get rid of it.  
  
"I...felt it," she said softly, her voice filled with awe. Kagome stared at Yusuke and he stared back, both racing to think of why this was happening. Yusuke finally settled on this probably had something to do with the multiple times damned jewel, and was about to say something when his own egg interrupted him with a loud crack.  
  
Two pairs of eyes, one blue, one brown, settled on the golden green egg, and then on the dark blue on as that one soon followed and began cracking and rocking like Yusuke's. "What the hell?" Yusuke asked suspiciously.  
  
"They're hatching stupid!" Kagome yelled in glee, practically dancing as she got to her feet and watched their eggs crack and little bits of light seemed to show through the cracks. Then Yusuke's egg actually tolled itself over and a flash of blue light blinded them. The exact blue of Yusuke's spirit energy.  
  
As their vision cleared, Kagome gasped and gave a little squeak. "It's adorable! Look at the wings!" Yusuke glared at her before turning to study the creature. Adorable, nothing of his could possibly be...Oh hell, she was right!  
  
It looked oddly like a horse. Yusuke remembered Kurama reviewing the material one-day and mentioning four body types. Hadn't one been horse? Great. The others had all been predator-like if he remembered. Nope, he got the cuddly looking horse-creature with wings and a horn.  
  
Yusuke blinked. A horn? A pretty sharp one. This was looking like it had come from one of those myths right about now. It was also a dark blue color, not all like the golden green of his egg. In fact, it was the shade of Kagome's presently still rocking egg.  
  
"What the hell is this? How is a creature that looks like it came from a fairy tale useful?" Kagome glared at him, about to say something about swearing in front of the newborn when Yusuke's eyes practically bugged out. "It just fucking spoke in my head!"  
  
Kagome's mouth snapped close in surprise but she was saved from having to attempt to reply by her own egg suddenly flashing the pink shade of her miko powers. When it once again cleared, another horse shaped Ancient lay there. Unlike the last one, this one was light blue, and definitely didn't have wings. Besides the light blue color, it appeared almost normal. "Oh! This ones mine!"  
  
She ran to it, her hand reaching out her hand to pet it. She froze within an inch of its head as it yawned; it's oddly lithe legs stretching out a bit. It was a bit less normal than she thought. The legs had claws at the end, and fangs glimmered inside the mouth that should have held flat teeth. Her hand pulled back and the creature gave a strange sound, between a whine and a neigh. Then it spoke.  
  
_*Does my appearance offend you? I'm sorry Kagome.* _Kagome gasped at the soft, childish voice, which also sounded mature in a confusing sort of way. At the same time, she felt something jerk, and where a second ago she had felt Yusuke's confusion and wariness, now she felt nothing. Still, she couldn't focus on that because of the odd hurt that had sounded in its little girl like voice. She immediately apologized to it. She didn't bother asking how it knew her name. It was, after all, linked to her.  
  
"It's all right. You just surprised me is all. Do you have a name or do I have to name you?" Kagome smiled as the creature attempted to stand, falling back as its newborn legs refused to stand.  
  
_*I am Tairi. We are born with names. You may change it if you like,* _Tairi offered softly. Kagome shook her head. "That's all right. it's a nice name."  
  
_*I have a name to, Guardian. Would you like to hear it?* _Another voice entered her head teasingly and Kagome's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Yusuke's winged creature.  
  
"His name is Elako," Yusuke said while smirking at the small Ancient. Yusuke felt the disappointment course through the horse look alike. Apparently he had wanted to play. He hid his shock that he and Kagome could hear each other's creature's. Weren't they only supposed to hear one? The one they were bonded too? Yusuke resisted sighing, watching as Kagome settled herself between both Ancients and patted them soothingly. Yusuke glared at Elako. Elako's snicker sounded in his head.  
  
*_You're pretty clever for a newborn,* _Yusuke thought accusingly at the Ancient. Elako was silent, and Yusuke was startled to feel that the newborn was troubled. So was Tairi.   
  
_*It is odd. We should no be so coherent. There is something strange going on here,* _the female thought to Yusuke and Kagome. Kagome frowned, then one hand moved to the jewel under her shirt and she looked at Yusuke.   
  
"Side effects of the jewel?" She questioned hesitantly.  
  
"Probably. Damn jewel, it even messes up newborn... whatever they are." Kagome rolled her eyes. "Ancients is the only name they have. Aren't they supposed to have a race memory? Maybe they'll know the real name when they get older. And really, if you want to get technical, it was us who did this, not the jewel. We both touched it."  
  
Yusuke scowled at her, not liking the implications that this was partly his fault, then smoothly changed the subject as he frowned at the still laying creatures. "Hey, aren't horses supposed to be able to stand after they're born? I read that somewhere."  
  
Kagome pretended to look shocked. "You? Read? I think I'm going to have a heart attack."  
  
Yusuke glared at her. "Not funny."  
  
Elako brought the attention from their argument to him by attempting to do what Yusuke wanted. His legs writhed and finally got underneath the creature, attempting to bring it a bit higher off the ground. The creature had one other thing keeping it off balance. His wings flailed around uselessly, attempting to help him up, but doing quite the opposite.  
  
"Careful!" Kagome cried when the little creature almost toppled sideways. She put her hands to one side, keeping Elako straight. To her relief, he managed to stay standing, balancing himself slowly. That was when, with shock, she saw his eyes. They were the exact same shade of blue Tairi's fur was. She quickly glanced over to Tairi. Tairi's eyes were the exact shade of Elako's fur. Kagome groaned.  
  
_*Thank you Guardian. Is this better Yusuke?* _Elako asked, apparently not noticing Kagome's new discovery.  
  
"Much. If you're going to look 'adorable', I'd like you to be standing while being adorable. Hey, maybe you can attract some girls for me." Elako apparently didn't understand, but by the sudden flash in Kagome's eyes, Yusuke's goal had succeeded. He barely managed not to smirk.  
  
Three pairs of eyes snapped to Tairi as she to began to struggle to her feet. Yusuke's jaw dropped as his gaze traveled to the bottom of her leg. "That thing has claws!"  
  
Kagome chuckled, grinning at the swaying Tairi, and two more voices sounded off giggles in the two humans' heads. "Obviously she has claws. I get the evil looking one and you get the cute one. Hey, boys like violent things, maybe I can attract a boyfriend with her, what do you think Yusuke?"  
  
Kagome smiled sweetly, apparently not noticing that Yusuke didn't like this idea. "Weren't we talking about something else, like a certain jewel, before they hatched?" Yusuke diverted the subject back to its original form with an angry glare.  
  
Kagome sighed, but brightened up when another aura began approaching. The only other one who knew she was here. Kagome's beaming smile was met with a similar one as a small bundle jumped into her arms. "Hi Shippo!"  
  
"Hi Kagome!" Shippo was about to snuggle into Kagome when he paused and looked down, seeing a long head peering up at him. Shippo blinked and looked down. It had claws. It seemed to be barely standing. Shippo looked around, and now seeing only seven eggs in the clearing, came to a conclusion.  
  
"It ate the eggs! Quick, keep it away, it might eat more!" Tairi stumbled backwards and Kagome held Shippo tightly, frowning down at him.  
  
"No, Shippo, it _was _an egg. It's one of them." Shippo stopped moving for a moment and smiled ruefully.  
  
"Oh. What's its name?" Shippo asked. Tairi took a few wobbling steps and reached up, her muzzle only getting within a foot of Shippo. He jumped down.  
  
*_Tell him my name is Tairi. He has another of our kind in an egg too, right?*_ Tairi and Shippo stared at each other nervously before Shippo reached out slowly to touch her light blue fur. Tairi leaned into the touch.   
  
"Her name is Tairi, Shippo."  
  
"And incase anyone was wondering, he's Elako," Yusuke said to the air, as apparently neither one was paying him any attention.  
  
"I want mine to hatch soon too!" Kagome, Yusuke, and their new creatures watched as Shippo bounded along, and then Kagome slowly began to walk back to the camp.  
  
"We should tell them ours hatched," Kagome said. The two Ancients walked behind them, Shippo bounding around in between them.  
  
Yusuke shrugged. "I think they'll be able to tell themselves." He was silent a moment, then he spoke again, the anger from earlier clearly showing in his eyes. "You could have trusted me. If you hadn't wanted me to tell, I could have kept it a secret. You put everyone in danger when only you and Kikyou knew."  
  
Yusuke refused to mention that if he had kept such a secret, he would have lost his teammates trust, as Inuyasha had been losing his. He watched Kagome wince and look away from him. "I'm its Guardian. I can't tell people, usually. Especially when there are three of demon blood around. one who tried to get the Shikon no Tama before."  
  
Yusuke was startled from his anger. She knew about Kurama? That was impossible. Yusuke eyed her in curiosity. "Who?"  
  
"Inuyasha," she said quietly, and Yusuke caught the ragged edges of hurt in her voice. He'd known the hanyou was lying, but he'd actually tried to take the jewel? No wonder she hadn't trusted them. On the other hand, they'd just been beginning to form bonds of trust, friendship, and in his case with one little miko, hopefully more. Though the chances of that were shot to hell now.  
  
Yusuke scowled, and kept walking, the overall warning language of his body telling her not to even try to speak to him. They walked back to camp in silence.  
  
The silence was intruded upon as they got nearer to camp, hearing almost all of their companions yelling, even Kikyou. And two more voices added into the mix, one familiar to Yusuke, and the other familiar to Kagome. Kagome, upon hearing the voice, began to run.  
  
Yusuke was startled for an instant, then rolled his eyes and sprinted after her. Tairi, despite newborn legs, somehow managed to get ahead of him. He scowled. "Damn females. Rush right into danger and get yourselves killed why don't you?" He muttered under his breath.  
  
_*It's nothing to worry about. Kagome just heard the voice of an old friend. Apparently she was very close to him when they were younger. At least, that's what Tairi is saying to me.* _Yusuke scowled at the commentary.  
  
"Wait, what do you mean by 'close'? And how come I can't hear her right now?" Yusuke stopped running and glared at Elako. Shippo looked confused, and bounded ahead, away from the apparently crazy human boy.  
  
_*You can't hear us when we talk to each other. Only when we direct it towards you or Kagome, or to one of us and one of you. And that's all Tairi said. Why?* _Elako's curious light blue eyes stared into Yusuke's brown ones. Yusuke scowled again. Elako radiated innocence, but that was hard to believe when you could feel the mischief inside of him.  
  
Yusuke finally made it to the clearing, ignoring Elako's mental sniggers. Yusuke sucked in a breath at what he saw. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. There was Keiko, his ex-girlfriend, who he'd recognized by voice. Sango was being held back, or looked like she had been, by Kikyou and Botan. Kurama's eyes were gold and focused on Keiko. He was angry with her.   
  
It was the other new male in the clearing and Kagome that shocked him. The boy was on the ground, wincing as he rubbed his red cheek. An exasperated Kagome was fighting off a smile as she stood above the fallen teenager. "You haven't changed. Pervert."  
  
"Two-timer," Sango added maliciously.  
  
"Idiot," Kikyou said with a sigh. The male rubbed his head, sitting up and wincing at the insults.  
  
"Jerk," Botan added angrily at last.  
  
The boy grinned at them all, moving to get up while avoiding Sango's eyes. Keiko moved forward. Inuyasha and Kurama both growled at her. She stopped and sighed. The teenage boy frowned, then his eyes landed on Inuyasha. The violet eyed teen stood up suddenly and glared. "Inuyasha. You're someone I didn't expect to see again. Ever. I'd hoped you'd have been killed by now."  
  
A shock ran through everyone, and Yusuke glanced over to see Kagome biting her lip and exchanging a glance with Kikyou. Kikyou nodded and turned towards the boys. "Miroku, Inuyasha has changed a bit. It's been two years since we've seen him. I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt."  
  
"Right. Sure. I'll just up and forgive him for three days of hell while Kagome was balanced between life and death because he wanted the damn jewel." Miroku's eyes were storming angrily, and Inuyasha bravely took a step forward, trying to make piece. Keiko let out a warning cry before Miroku took out a piece of foot long wooden looking material that soon expanded, crashing into Inuyasha's stomach as it reached its five-foot length.  
  
"Miroku! Stop! I don't know how you know Inuyasha, or what you're talking about, but-" Keiko stopped short at the fury in Miroku's eyes.  
  
"Stop? The murdering little bastard. He almost killed my best friend!" Kagome tried to pull Miroku back. Everyone else was standing in shock as Miroku wheeled to face Keiko. Kikyou was kneeling beside the fallen Inuyasha. he seemed more dazed than hurt, and getting angry.  
  
"Like hell, she wasn't the only one almost killed, she wasn't exactly defenseless! I was practically purified!"   
  
"Practically wasn't good enough. She actually went flat line once hanyou. You didn't even need medical attention." Miroku's cold and unforgiving gaze was glaring into Inuyasha's golden one. Inuyasha looked away first.   
  
"Stop this. Both of you. What's done is done Miroku. Kikyou believes in him. Isn't that enough?" Kagome asked seriously.  
  
"Do you believe in him, Kagome?" Miroku's question hung in the air and Kagome looked down. Kikyou studied her sister, her gaze pleading though she knew her sister couldn't see it. Inuyasha glanced around and saw Keiko looking on in confusion.  
  
"What is going on here, Miroku? How do you know Inuyasha? You told me about those girls you knew, but what does Inuyasha have to do with it?" Keiko's answer was more silence as Miroku continued to silently gaze at Kagome, his eyes demanding an answer from her.  
  
"I believe in his team. I don't believe in all of the individuals, and I don't trust each of them as individuals. But I trust them as a whole. If it came down to it, I would place my life with them, even Inuyasha." Kagome's tone was final and Botan's head jerked up, staring at her friend. Botan smiled, seeing Kikyou do the same, but for a different reason. She trusted them. Things might actually turn out all right.  
  
Miroku studied her for a moment, then grinned and shrugged. "All right then. If you trust them, I trust them."  
  
Keiko's eyes narrowed behind him, eyeing Kagome as Yusuke did the same to Miroku. Keiko glanced at the other's, and saw a couple of the boys doing similar things, but without the same light that was in Keiko's eyes. Miroku hadn't said he was this close to the miko, close enough to simply step back after being so angry.  
  
"Wait," Yusuke said suddenly. "You mentioned the jewel. You know about it?"  
  
Miroku looked slightly amused. "I wondered about the tension in the group. Well, besides the tension I and Keiko were causing. Apparently we aren't well liked here. I can't imagine why." As Miroku turned to talk to Yusuke, Kagome rolled her eyes. He just had to be sarcastic.  
  
"As for the question, I've known about it since Kagome became Guardian. Actually, a bit before. I knew her father was Guardian before she did. It wasn't hard to figure out. Especially about the odd reports that sometimes came about him from the other neighbors. Gossip was, and still is I imagine, a major past time of our neighborhood. It was the wish he made that did it." Miroku's eyes flickered to Kikyou, who in turn stared at Botan. Botan winced, then shrugged.  
  
"I'm missing something now. The whole neighborhood knew? What wish?" Kagome felt a tingle of fear run up her spine. She knew about the wishes that Guardians could make, she just hadn't thought that her father had used one.   
  
"No, the whole neighborhood didn't know, I just put it together because I knew your family, and I was in the bushes when Kikyou drowned," Miroku said, his tone softening as he looked around the group.  
  
"Died?" Kagome asked, her eyes wide. Her gaze flickered to her sister, then to Botan, wondering what she had to do with it, as she was looking guilty.  
  
"You know, for such a tight-knit group, you girls certainly have a lot of secrets, even from each other," Yusuke remarked. Inuyasha growled at him, but it was too late, as Sango had jerked to her feet and stomped back towards her tent, remembering what her friends hadn't told her, and wanting to get away from Miroku and the memories he carried with him.  
  
Kikyou glared at him as Kagome stood up and walked off. It turned to surprise as a small horse-like creature trotted after her. A blue horse that had claws and fangs. How odd. "What was that?"  
  
"What? Oh, our eggs hatched." Yusuke paused as a few faces gaped at him, then Elako stepped out from the underbrush. Yusuke winced at the coos from all four of the leftover girls. For some reason, when they all went to touch him, Elako shied away from Keiko.  
  
"Smart horse, knows when not to trust someone," Inuyasha muttered nastily. Miroku shot a glare at him, and the half-demon straightened, claws flexing. Keiko laid a hand on Miroku's arm and pulled him back.   
  
"Why don't we all calm down. I know none of you boys like me, and apparently the girls don't like Miroku, but we have to explain why we're here." That said, she pulled out a jacket made of dark purple material. On it's collar was a pin shaped like a comet. Miroku did the same, pulling a jacket out of his bag nearby, flipping the collar to show the same thing.  
  
"Comets. Figures, the only group that goes to the battlefield that can be called coward," Sango said, eyeing Miroku coldly. Both of the two Comets stiffened, and Botan quickly headed off a confrontation.  
  
"Did any of the other eggs look like they were going to hatch? And I hope they all don't look like horses. He doesn't exactly look like a formidable ally." Elako snorted at the comment.  
  
_*What's wrong with how I look? I'll show her, when I'm bigger I'll outdo whatever her egg turns out to be!* _There was a pause, then Elako looked about. _*Can I go play with Tairi? The Guardian says its ok.*  
  
_"Sure, Elako. Go ahead," Yusuke said out loud, not noticing the stares he was getting from the others, especially when the horse look-alike neighed and actually trotted off in the general direction Kagome had gone.  
  
"That was interesting. Now, does anyone actually want to know why we're here, or should we just pass out some more insults?" Miroku smiled pleasantly, his temper under control once again. Kikyou sighed and sat down against a tree, the other two girls sitting on either side.  
  
"Good! Keiko, why don't you explain to everybody. Bye!" Keiko was left with seven teenagers staring at her as Miroku strode off in Kagome's direction. Waiting for an explanation. She sighed, but plastered on a smile and tensed herself for dealing with the most stubborn beings that the universe could provide.  
  
--------------------  
  
andrea10 : I'm glad you loved it, feel free to review some more, and here's an update.  
  
blazingsunstar: Thanks.  
  
Lifeless-Kanna: Ok. Review again!  
  
SilverKnight7: Have done so! Review again!  
  
Hokuikai: Thanks. Here's an update that took a bit longer than expected.  
  
Winged Knight: Setting plot, huh? Maybe, though this chapter didn't go as well. Ah well, I got all the major things in. I'll fix it up next chapter a bit, so things will be a bit more clearer. Especially on why people would be mad at Keiko or Miroku. As for the Jewel... Nope, but that's a very good guess. Well, it's a bit true, but just remember that everything ties into the Prophecy. I should write that down sometime a bit better.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
  
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Chapter 9 - Old Relationships  
  
The clearing was just out of sensing distance of the group. A stream ran through, the water as clear as it was on Earth, but reflecting the odd colored sky and clouds. One slim hand cut through the water then to life up to eye level. Blue eyes watched as the water slowly slid down her skin, some of it dripping off of her fingertips, some sliding down to her bent elbow.  
  
She heard the soft footsteps behind her, familiar weight that settled onto the ground beside her. Blue eyes met violet and Kagome sighed. "Hey Miroku."  
  
"Kagome. Running away isn't like you." Kagome couldn't help but smile. He was so to the point with her. At least at the moment he was. Sometimes he danced around the subject. Not today apparently.  
  
"I know. But...there are so many issues that everyone's having. The jewel, you two coming, whatever happened with Kikyou... I don't know if I can handle this." Kagome's gloomy face suddenly jerked into surprise as Miroku began to laugh. A great belly laugh that scared some nearby birds.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" Kagome's snap did nothing to deter the young man and she had to wait until he calmed down before he would answer. He was grinning at her, a gentleness in his eyes she rarely saw. "You Kagome. I'm laughing at you for daring to think such a thing. Obviously you aren't really thinking at all."  
  
"What?" Kagome tilted her head, confusion plainly written across her face.   
  
"Look Kagome, you were barely more than a baby when your father gave you the Guardianship of the Shikon no Tama." Miroku stopped as Kagome scowled, letting her interrupt him.  
  
"I was not a baby! I was almost seven years old!"  
  
"And how many seven year old girls with big blue eyes do you know who could be given the responsibility of the most dangerous mystical object in existence?"  
  
Silence descended and Miroku sighed. "And how many fourteen year old girls can rise up against their boyfriend, not because he betrayed them, but because they were trusted with something precious. How many sixteen year olds are trusted with the secrets they hold, and with so many more responsibilities?"  
  
"How do you know exactly what to say to cheer me up?" Kagome asked, trying to keep a hold of her stormy mood.  
  
"Because I've known you for way, way too long." He flashed her a grin and held out his hand for her. She took and they got up. They had only gone a few steps when Kagome stopped and rolled her eyes. "Don't even try it."  
  
She could feel him pout and they walked back towards the group smirking. Miroku looked curiously at the blue horse waiting for them. "When did this get here?"  
  
"That's Tairi. She went to play with Elako after it seemed I wasn't going to cheer up just by her saying I should. She's my Ancient. Where's Elako?" Miroku looked at her quizzically as she seemed to be listening to something and nodded her head. Her eyes briefly unfocused and then she was walking again.  
  
"Do they... speak to you?"   
  
"You couldn't hear her?" Kagome seemed surprised, the smiled, shaking her head. "Of course you can't. Only I can. And apparently Yusuke. I hope with all the emotions stirring about in the air she doesn't get any wrong impressions about people. I want her to form her own, but with her in my mind, I'm not sure if she will. Or if she can. What if she's supposed to have the same opinions as me?"  
  
Miroku chuckled and shook his head. "You worry too much."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Shush. Listen. They're yelling about something." They continued walking, coming up as quietly as they could, and crouching down as they got closer, not wanting to interrupt the conversation. Or perhaps it was just because they were with each other again and old habits die hard.  
  
"O didn't do it on purpose! It just happened!" Keiko's raised voice floated over to the two quietly creeping towards the group.  
  
"What, you fell on his lips? And that wasn't the only time his scent was on you!" Inuyasha sounded as arrogant as always. And pissed as hell.  
  
"Look, I've apologized, and it was over with a year ago! I'm supposed to be here on business, not so you four can bite my head off because I kissed Miroku!" Keiko instantly gasped at what she said and there were angry cries from the three other girls. Kagome looked at Miroku. "She's the one Sango and you broke up because of."  
  
"Yeah." Miroku looked wary as Kagome stared at him, but all she did was smile and turn back towards the others.  
  
"I thought he smelled familiar. It must be because of when I and Inuyasha sniffed your clothes." Kurama's calm voice had undertones of fury that Kagome could see as she crept forward were changing his eyes to gold.  
  
"You... the girl Miroku was seeing. And you're still together?" Sango sounded dubious. And a bit jealous.   
  
"Yeah. Off and on, but we've been together for a good three months straight this time. The last few times were much shorter and we kept breaking up for silly things. Not this time!" Keiko said it proudly.  
  
"Three months compared to two fucking years. Yeah, that's such a big comparison Keiko." Yusuke's voice would have put boiling water to shame at how scalding it was.  
  
Kagome winced slightly. And she'd though Inuyasha had been bad. At least theirs had been a short and very fake relationship. The couple of others boys she'd dated hadn't even been for half that length. She glared at Miroku. He raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"As she said Kagome, it's been over a year. Don't be so protective just because you like the boy." Miroku grinned as the reaction was instantaneous.  
  
"I do not!" She hissed.  
  
"Do not what sister?" Kagome and Miroku both craned their necks until they saw Kikyou standing behind them. Two nervous smiles and a two pushes later and Kagome and Miroku gave identical yelps and used their momentum to roll to their feet in the middle of the gathering.  
  
"That wasn't nice, Kikyou." Miroku frowned at her as he spoke and Kagome huffed and crossed her arms. Kikyou raised an eyebrow. "They couldn't send someone else? I liked having a more normal Kagome. With you here, I'm going to have to start checking the food and weapons for new pranks."  
  
Two innocent grins split their faces. "We have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Kikyou. We never play pranks!"  
  
"That's right. They're works of art, not pranks," Miroku added to Kagome's statement. There were looks of growing horror from Botan and Sango.  
  
"We're going to die. I mean, there were security cameras at the dorms before we split up, and they still managed to not only sneak out of their rooms and meet, but sneak into ours!" Botan's eyes were slightly wild.  
  
"He took all my bras and strung them on the tree outside that one time, too," Sango grumbled. "Personally, I think he performed all the tricks, Kagome just polished off his ideas."  
  
"We never could catch them." Kikyou sighed and stared at the two who both had a strange twinkle in their eyes.  
  
"Pranks? You never mentioned pranks." Keiko's voice was sharp and suspicious and Miroku winced before catching Kagome's amused smile and his own face lit into a grin.  
  
"They weren't worth mentioning. But, if it so pleases you Keiko, you will find out al about them. _Very _soon." His voice was practically a purr, and she didn't seem to catch the mischievous undertones until Kagome began giggling."  
  
_Can we help too? We can, can't we? _Kagome grinned as she felt Elako and Tairi's presence in her mind. She caught Yusuke's eyes and saw him smirking at her.  
  
_'Sure. That will be useful.'_ The two Ancients seemed satisfied and Kagome was smirking herself.  
  
"Pranks, them? I never remember Kagome playing pranks." Inuyasha had his head tilted and his ears pointed forward, his face screwed up into a thoughtful expression.  
  
"I think it's cool! Kagome deserves a little fun!" This was from Shippo, piping up from the back of Elako who was trotting towards them. Presently, the horse like creature was small, but not small enough that Shippo couldn't perch on him.  
  
"I and the girls were on vacation from most of our training. Miroku still had his. Things were getting boring before you showed up. Afterwards I regretted ever thinking we needed something interesting to happen." Kagome's voice was brittle again.  
  
"Why the hell did you want the jewel anyway?" Yusuke was eyeing his friend askance, the question just coming to him.  
  
Inuyasha mumbled something under his breath. Apparently only Kurama and Shippo heard him and Kurama's eyes flashed gold. Shippo squeaked and hid himself behind Kagome.  
  
"You would use the Shikon no Tama for something like that? You could have permanently turned it dark! You would have called Resurga and Naraku straight to it! Inuyasha, what were you thinking?" There was a small silence as Inuyasha stared at Kurama before crossing his arms across his chest. Surprisingly, he didn't even get to attempt to defend himself.   
  
"Leave him alone. It was two years ago. He's grown up since then." Kikyou's voice was surprisingly full of anger. Inuyasha looked stunned by her defense of him against his own teammate. Botan began to smile. This would definitely work out.  
  
"Do you know what he was planning to do with it?" Kurama's snapping apparently got on Kikyou's nerves as her miko aura flared about her. "I'm not stupid. Of course I do. Kagome told me."  
  
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Yusuke snapped at them all angrily.  
  
"Inuyasha wanted to use the Shikon no Tama to become a full demon." The calm reply was from Kagome, who was staring at them all curiously. "We really do need to talk more. There are so many things we don't know about each other."  
  
_You might want to start this later. Two more of the eggs are hatching. _Tairi's voice in Kagome's mind was excited and Elako neighed sharply, startling Shippo into getting off of him.  
  
"I believe that's a goo- Hey!" Keiko yelped and stumbled backwards as the blue winged horse ran by her. Kagome leaned in a hand to help her up. Keiko blinked at the girl but took her hand.  
  
"Elako was just excited. Two more of the eggs are hatching." Seven pairs of startled eyes widened and then seven pairs of feet went off towards the hatching eggs.  
  
Miroku and Yusuke were left standing besides Kagome and Shippo as the rest of the group plus the curious Keiko stumbled off towards the egg clearing. Miroku seemed to sigh and then grinned. "So, shall I tell you why we're here now? No interruptions and no old feuds to hash out."  
  
"Do. Now." Yusuke had turned a glare onto the older teen and Miroku shrunk back before straightening his shoulders and doing his best to pretend he was an innocent in this situation.  
  
"As you know, we are Comets. One of the things we will be doing is transporting you and the others plus the Ancients off of this world once they have hatched," Miroku began.  
  
"Why can't we use our old ships?" Kagome cut in.  
  
"For one, they've been called back. A while ago. How unobservant of you." Miroku took this time to smirk at her. "Besides that, we could not risk your lives. The enemy could have identified the ships, and destroyed you once you exited the atmosphere. We also needed real weapons on the ship. Comet ships may not have the best weapons, but they have a hell of a lot better weapons than regular transport ships."  
  
"That's it? They just send you for transport? Why you two? You can't be long out of training!" Kagome, despite that she was happy to see Miroku, saw something a bit suspicious in that story.  
  
"Well, after we take you to Mars-"  
  
"What?!" Kagome and Yusuke both gaped at him. Miroku smiled nervously. "Well, you see, the demons have apparently started to sense there's something here, so you guys have to move quick when we move, and they'll just keep going after you, so the Council decided to get straight to the source of the problem. Naraku'[s the one sending most of the lower demon hordes, so they thought they'd just send us to him to see what we could about him."  
  
Kagome sat down. Hard. She was slack jawed as she stared at the comet boy who was taking this so calmly. It wasn't exactly an every day occurrence that you get told you were going to be thrown onto the planet that was known to have highest demon population of any of the planets.  
  
Yusuke was in a similar state of mind. He stayed on his feet for his open jawed and bug-eyed look. It was left to Shippo to respond to it. After all, it only made sense to cut off the snake at its head.  
  
"You said 'us'. Are you coming?" The tiny kitsune's curious question seemed to snap the two humans out of their trance long enough to wait for an answer.  
  
"Yes, actually. I and Keiko will be joining the group." Miroku actually bowed, his hand sweeping forward with a flourishing gesture.  
  
"Great. We've got eleven now. It started out as eight..."  
  
"And it will end in sixteen." Miroku and Kagome stated together, both with a grimace.   
  
"What the hell are you talking about? How the fuck will we get sixteen people?" Yusuke was unhappy enough with these two joining. He didn't need to be taking care of five more people after this!  
  
"Who knows?" Miroku asked rhetorically.  
  
"It's all tied into the prophecy." Was Kagome's bitter answer.  
  
"What prophecy?" Instantly Yusuke was searching around his unorganized mind for thoughts on prophecies. He didn't like what he came up with.  
  
"There is a prophecy about the Shikon no Tama. I don't know all of it. Only bits and pieces. Only the Great Prophets have ever known the whole thing, and that's usually only one prophet every few generations. Perhaps ever generation if we're lucky. They don't tell many people." There was an old hurt slipping into Kagome's voice as she spoke, one that neither Shippo nor Yusuke understood. Yusuke heard Tairi's soothing comment in his mind, obviously directed at Kagome. More than that, he saw Miroku's understanding look. He didn't like that the boy who had just landed here knew more about what was going on with his team than he did.  
  
"Is there one now? 'Cause, maybe they'd tell us!" Shippo was on the tips of his paws, practically bouncing as he thought of a solution to help Kagome. Perhaps if he found this 'Prophet' she wouldn't be so sad anymore!  
  
"There is. I'll ask Kikyou later who it is. She'll know if anybody does." Kagome flashed them a bright smile, walking towards the egg clearing as Tairi and Elako's chatter went up a level. They were making all sorts of noise, out loud and in her head.  
  
"Why would Kikyou know?" Yusuke was easily walking beside her and watched as a strange emotion passed over her eyes. "A good question. She seems to collect information like that. Observant that way, isn't she?"  
  
Yusuke decided it was time to shut up at that point. Kagome's brow was furrowed and she looked like she was thinking hard about something. Even when they reached the clearing and the others stopped in shock she kept moving a few more steps before noticing.  
  
She looked up and stared at the image before her. Hiei was glaring hard enough to burn a hole in the creature he was staring at if it wasn't fire resistant itself. It was slightly larger than Elako and Tairi, but by the gangly way it was built, Kagome had a feeling it would be a hell of a lot bigger than those two when it was full-grown.  
  
It only took a few more seconds before Yusuke threw his head back and began to laugh.   
  
"It's not funny." Crimson eyes were almost glowing as he glared at his 'friend.'  
  
"Aww, but its so cute Hiei!" Yusuke's said through his giggles. Apparently the small creature took offense.  
  
Yusuke quickly stopped laughing when the baby opened its mouth and almost gave him a fire bath. He jumped away, staring at the thing that had quickly gone from silly looking too dangerous. "Holy shit."  
  
Hiei looked smug. "Good dragon."  
  
The furry black and red creature actually purred at the faint praise, its feathered wings extending and then folding again as its tail wagged happily against the ground. Large red eyes peeked out at him, bliss shining happily from them. Hiei ground his teeth.  
  
Botan was looking every bit as unhappy as Hiei. Despite the rather girlish color of pink with a white line worming down her spine to the tip of its lizard like tail, it wasn't very girlish looking.  
  
It too looked like it would grow bigger, but there were no gangly wings and awkward oversized limbs. This dragon was all deadly grace and sharp features. Not a bit of fur on her, only scales, and this dragon didn't have wings.  
  
"If things keep going this way, the boys are going to be very put out until their cute little Setrans get older." The word slipped out before Botan even realized what had happened. Kagome was regarding her oddly.  
  
"Memories?" It was all Kagome needed to ask. Botan nodded. Kagome grinned at her. "Setrans sounds nice. Better than calling them ancients."  
  
"Stop that. You are a dragon, albeit a strange looking one. Act it!" Hiei's snap sent the mostly black dragon into a howling wail. Kagome gasped as it took a breath and began wailing louder. It was pure black besides it's wings and a mane of fur at it's neck that extended into it's wings and four lines on its face, two on its neck and chin, the other two on his head and passing above his eye. He was showing off these two to anybody who would look.  
  
Shippo, Kurama, and Inuyasha clapped their hands over their ears. Inuyasha snarled at the dragon. "Dammit Hiei, shut the damn thing up!"  
  
Hiei attempted to, but the malice in his voice against the creature that had chosen him did nothing to make it stop. Kagome extended her mind to Tairi. _'Can you make it stop?'  
  
Him. He's a him. Dedran is upset that his chosen does not like him. I see no reason why I should even _try _to stop him. He is in the right. Have Elako or Ketria do it. _Kagome winced at the anger in Tairi's tone. Apparently she hadn't appreciated Hiei's tone either.  
  
_'He'll call any demon nearby to us!' _She tried reasoning with no effect.  
  
Finally, it was Botan's Setran who, in annoyed logic that only made sense to a child, decided he deserved whatever he got for wailing so loud. No one had to ask it of Ketria, she did what she did for free, though she might come to regret it later.  
  
Dedran shut up very fast when he found his pelt was now very wet. Large red eyes met large pink ones. He opened his mouth and spit fire at her. A ball of water splashed into it. Neither material reached the other dragon. The onlookers stared. Shippo reacted first.  
  
"Wow. Do it again!"  
  
---------  
  
Choas Babe: Sorry it took awhile! Too many stories about.  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess: Heh. What kind? There are four, and different kinds of elelments they get too. :)  
  
helen: I hope this answered all your questions, and yes, more Yus/Kag scenes coming up soon.  
  
blazingsunstar: Thank you.  
  
Kurama and Hiei's lovable miko: Thank you! I love you stories too. 'Specially the Yus/Kag ones.  
  
Winged Knight: Yes, he'll definitely be changed by a life threatning event. I like him all demon-y  
  
Shadow Stone: You don't sound bad, it's just that I work on this when I feel like I can. I can't just go 'whoosh' and finish it. You really want to bother me join my Yahoo group and talk to me there. It's easier and faster than reviews. Plus I read everything on the group as soon as I see it's posted. :)


	10. Chapter 10

AN: This chapter was so not planned this way. It ran away from me. She wasn't supposed to say that yet! But hey, at least they'll be going somewhere soon.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha  
  
---------------  
  
Chapter 10 - Wrong thing to say  
  
Tairi and Elako, who looked small compared to the just born Setrans, surprisingly stopped the fight between water and fire. Hiei regarded all four quizzically.  
  
"Yours are strange. They should not be so." Kagome and Yusuke stared at him, but he refused to say anything more. They exchanged confused glances, and then queried their Setrans.  
  
_'We aren't sure. But we are strange. Dedran and Ketria are less... articulate. More like how a child human would act. A bit like the fox-child, Shippo.' _Tairi's head was tilted to one side and Kagome sighed.  
  
"Figures. We get strange ones." Yusuke shrugged and then quickly pulled himself and Kagome down as Ketria and Dedran decided that the fight, despite Tairi and Elako's admonishments, was not over. Fire and water met over their head, steam quickly rising as Yusuke look up and glared. "Damnit! Somebody tell them to not do that!"  
  
"I can't believe the Congress let anybody have dangerous beasts like these," Keiko exclaimed from slightly behind them. Four glares were quickly directed her way as the four who had bonded the hatched Setrans took offense.  
  
"They have so many dangerous abilities. I don't mean to offend you, but they _eat _energy. They could drain away life energy!" Keiko seemed overly disturbed by the thought and Kagome's eyes narrowed, tilting her head. Miroku seemed to sigh to her left and an understanding look passed through his eyes.  
  
_'We wouldn't do that! Even if we got hungry, we'll only drain enemies!' _Elako protested vehemently, making both Kagome and Yusuke wince, but nobody else seemed to hear them.  
  
_'When will you get hungry?'_ Kagome questions. There was a pause and then a mental shrug from Tairi. Apparently they didn't know.  
  
"Keiko, the Setrans are not like the Geshna demons. They are bonded to friends of ours, and friends of our whole side on this war. They won't hurt you." Miroku's calm, quiet tone calmed her down slowly, but she was still staring at the four with an uneasy look.  
  
"Keh. Why the hell are you two here anyway?" Inuyasha was eyeing them with hostility, and Kagome decided enough was enough.  
  
"Inuyasha, stop it. They're here because of the Prophecy. Kikyou, who's our Prophet? By the way, someone might want to catch those eggs, they're rocking all over." Everyone turned to stare as Kagome absently patted Tairi, smiling cheerfully at all of them. Dumbly, Inuyasha stared at his egg as it rolled by his feet. Kikyou was much quicker, kneeling down beside hers and putting it between her hands. Instantly it cracked open, the bright pink of her miko powers briefly filling the clearing as a pale yellow bird fell into her hands. It wasn't a small bird, being around the same size as all the other hatchlings.  
  
She had strange purple eyes and a purple beak, but besides that was all pale yellow. Kikyou stared at her for a moment, then curved her lips into a rare smile. "She will be strong."  
  
"The Prophet, Kikyou?" Kagome asked gently.  
  
"Botan of course. Who else would it be? I doubt she even realizes that she is the Great Prophet yet, however," Kikyou said absently, stroking the yellow feathers as the newborn bird crooned.  
  
"How come ours are only one color? Everybody else has gotten two so far!" Yusuke complained loudly. Kagome shook her head as Inuyasha egg cracked open, closely followed by the hanyou swearing when it bit him.  
  
"Damn it! What the hell is this? My own Setran even hates me!" Inuyasha glared at the male, who glared back.  
  
"It's a reflection of your own feelings. Perhaps you inwardly hate yourself," Kikyou stated seriously as she looked at the hanyou. "Keh," Inuyasha muttered.  
  
"Me? I can't be the Great Prophet? How could I be? I just... I mean I know some weird things that have nothing to do with my life as a spirit guide, but..." Botan stopped when Hiei made a slight noise, hesitating as he took his bandana. At her frightened but accepting nod, his jagan eyes flowed. Botan shuddered, remembering the last time he had come into her mind. As if sensing what she was thinking, which he probably was, his head jerked slightly and a strange emotion showed in his eyes. If Botan hadn't known any better, she would have said he was guilty.  
  
"The older miko is correct." Hiei was quick to put his bandana back on and turn away to watch his dragon. Both Kurama and Yusuke had turned their eyes to him, and they exchanged significant glances before Kagome cleared her throat again.  
  
"That, at least, solves one problem. Botan, could you start keeping paper and a pen by your sleeping bag? We need to know the whole of that Prophecy. Since we're all here and for once being civil, anybody else have a problem to bring up?" Kagome tilted her head, ruining her strong leader image. Yusuke smirked a bit, at least he could keep act like a leader without looking cute all the time.  
  
_'That's not what Kagome thinks,'_Elako said, fortunately only to him and not to both of them. Yusuke's brown eyes widened as he stared at his Setran. Elako's eyes were twinkling mischievously. Kurama interrupted his thoughts. "Actually, I would like two things cleared up. Could you summarize what happened with you and Inuyasha? And, can either of you better explain why the jewel glowed the other day? That in itself is strange."  
  
"Because of what they are." Strangely, it was Botan who answered. She shrugged, she'd been thinking such things for days, knowing they had to trust each other because of the prophecy. But she didn't even know the whole prophecy. At least, she didn't believe she did. Whenever she thought about it, it eluded her thoughts.  
  
"I know what I am, but what's he?" Kagome asked, tilting her head again and sitting down, deciding they weren't going to be moving anytime soon.  
  
"The Controller. I'm not sure exactly what it means. Only that both of you have strong links to the Shikon no Tama. But... I want to know more about Kurama's question. Especially the battle you two had. You and Kikyou were both closed mouthed over what you did that ended up with both of you in such conditions." Kagome grimaced and sighed, her fingers tightening in Tairi's fur.  
  
"Inuyasha had, apparently, somehow figured out that one of us was the holder of the Shikon no Tama. I have my suspicions of how, but those will have to wait. He believed it was Kikyou who had inherited the jewel. Unfortunately for him, Kikyou was, and usually still is, aloof. He couldn't simply approach her and win her trust, she'd never have even give him a second glance. But, he couldn't just try and steal it. She'd be on guard. He had to get close, earn her trust. He decided the best way to do that was to go through the younger, friendly, cheerful, and way too naive younger sibling." Kagome sneered briefly, the old anger and hurt showing in her features once again.  
  
"His approach was probably the only honest thing about the whole thing. Later I figured out he must have been watching us for at least a week. He fell asleep in the God Tree doing that. I woke him up and after a brief argument in which he apparently forgot why he was there, we managed to learn each other's names, and tell the whole neighborhood how stupid the other one was." Everyone's attention had shifted to Inuyasha, who was staring at his two toned bird, a clash of white and black with yellow eyes and beak.  
  
"I didn't know he actually had an attention span that could last a whole week," Yusuke muttered a bit louder than he intended.  
  
"Oh, his attention span last a whole lot longer. It lasted through hand holds and kisses even, with not even an inkling of his true intentions." Kagome's eyes flared and her tone was bitter and self-criticizing. Yusuke seized on one part of the statement with jealous surprise. "You two kissed?"  
  
Kagome didn't even bother that question with an answer, though her eyes did dart to Yusuke with surprise and a bit of a smirk. Tairi sang into both their heads with her soft child like voice. _'You two like each other. You want to ki-iss.'  
  
_Two glares later the horse like Setran paused, then asked seriously, _'What's a kiss? Why would you want to kiss? Elako! Yusuke's mind is easier to paw through. What's a kiss?'  
  
_Kagome choked, realizing that Tairi really had gotten that from them, and just decided to tease them about it. Blushing bright red and carefully avoiding Yusuke's eyes as realization slowly dawned in his mind, she went back to explaining the incident to her highly amused and suspicious friends.  
  
"Eventually, I actually had a run in with Sesshoumaru. Not the nicest demon in the world, and quite free with his opinion of Inuyasha. Of course, being who he was, it wasn't the first time I'd had a run in with Sesshoumaru, but I'd never linked him to Inuyasha before and upon finding out I was dating Inuyasha, the dog demon had the audacity to wonder if he'd managed to get the Shikon no Tama from us yet. I didn't have the nicest reaction and Sesshoumaru wisely decided to depart." Her blush had disappeared and Inuyasha and Kikyou were both looking over solemnly, the shame in Inuyasha's amber eyes evident to any who cared to look.  
  
Kagome paused as she sifted through her memories, remembering the terrible anger and hurt she'd felt afterward, and the oddly calm planning she'd done. She'd detached herself from her emotions a bit, and was enjoying the feeling. Unlike Kikyou, who sometimes could do this for hours, it wasn't in Kagome's nature to be like that for too long, and the bind on her emotions had snapped at the end of their confrontation, luckily for her. "Eventually I confronted him about it. I found a clearing. A natural shield. You know how there are spots that you walk into, and no one can sense you from the outside, none at all? I had long ago found one of these. It was my haven. And then, it was my battlefield. I didn't want anyone to come looking for either of us when our auras spiked and out shields keeping in our powers dissolved."  
  
"So he was appropriately shocked when he found out I knew, and thankfully before we battled I found out he thought Kikyou was the Guardian. So I defended myself in her name, telling him he'd have to go through me to get to the Shikon no Tama. Which was true of course. We fought and... at first I was doing very badly. I'd bound my emotions, hoping that keeping calm would help me fight. It hadn't."  
  
Inuyasha was startled, and gently pushed away his bird, which had fortunately decided that biting was not an appropriate greeting and was sleepily leaning against a tree. "So that's what happened. I wondered why you seemed so calm. Damn Kagome, no wonder you sucked at first."  
  
"So how did you escape?" Kurama wondered, knowing that if his friend had, despite any feelings he might have harbored for the younger miko as well as the older, dedicated himself to a fight he would have continued it until one of them was dead.  
  
"I didn't escape. I won. My control on my powers and my emotions snapped and I purified him into unconsciousness. Miroku, having come back from his training a couple of hours before, had known where to look for me when I was missing, and found me before I bled to death. Kikyou tended to Inuyasha, not knowing what had happened, or perhaps looking for an explanation from him. She didn't get one. When he awoke he ran, and I was in the hospital and unconscious for longer than anyone would have liked." Kagome fell silent and the group shifted awkwardly for a moment before Kurama turned to Inuyasha.  
  
"How did you find out that the Shikon no Tama was in their family?" Inuyasha snorted, the only thing that he still found amusing about that whole escapade was the way he had found out about it.  
  
"I'd been bored around the time, and was going through the database of fighters of any kind who'd gotten an honorable mention for doing something brave. Guess who showed up? Their father." Inuyasha shook his head. They'd erased so many records so his family could be safe, but they'd left that one! It was so out in the open, and yet, no one but a bored teenager had ever found him.  
  
"Who's there father? I mean I know Kagome got the jewel from him and everything, but who is he?" Yusuke found that Inuyasha, as well as Kikyou, Kagome, and Miroku, were all staring at him. How was he supposed to know? Everyone else looked just as confused as he was.  
  
"Think about it for a second guys. You already know the answer. It's a common fact he was not only a Prophet, but also the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama at one point. He carries no last name at the moment." Kagome spoke quietly, but there was a burning anger beneath her tone, older even than the hurt Inuyasha had given her. Obviously she had not taken her father's leaving, for whatever reasons, very well at all.  
  
It took a few moments before anyone worked it out. Keiko gasped first. Botan looked at her and when the girl mouthed a name, the blue-haired girl nodded. She of course, knew too, having been put into this mortal body by the man.  
  
"Tenashu." Strangely, it was Hiei who murmured the name, a strange look in his eyes. Kurama stared briefly at the girls, then studied Kagome's features briefly. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see the resemblance. Obviously most of the mikos features came from their mother, but Kagome's eyes were purely her father's. Obviously a young and impulsive Inuyasha hadn't studied the picture of Tenashu long enough to realize that Kikyou was not his true daughter.  
  
"No way. He had kids? No wonder he got rid of his last name." Yusuke's muttering didn't go unheard and Kagome's fists were quickly clenched. Kikyou turned away from her bird fully, worry filling her gray eyes as she studied her sister.  
  
"Yeah, got rid of his name, abandoned his responsibilities and family and got a nice high paying placement in the government." The bitterness in her voice had Miroku closing his eyes. He knew the upcoming fight by heart. If Kikyou rose to the occasion. Perhaps she had grown up enough to leave Kagome's hurt and anger alone instead of reopening it with her own words. Nothing could be fixed until they saw Tenashu again anyway.  
  
"He didn't abandon anything! He did it to protect us!" Kikyou's eyes were flashing with real anger, more emotion than she usually showed brightening her eyes.  
  
"I think you're thinking of your father, who died in battle. My father died when he decided that a little girl who he had explained _nothing _to and who thought her father was simply going on vacation was a proper Guardian for the most powerful mystical object in existence!"  
  
"I think that's a yes, Yusuke." Sango said almost ignoring the fight. "Apparently she inherited the temper he's famous for. Quite like him, isn't she?"  
  
"I am nothing like that jerk!" Sango gave her a cool look, and Miroku's eyes were wide. Two girls involved in this fight was all he could handle, three would be a disaster.  
  
"Really? He kept secrets from you that later ended up harming you, right? And what did you do to the boys, and to me?" Sango stood, joining the two angry mikos in outright anger.  
  
"Excuse me? I did that because I was trying to protect this damn thing! He ran off and left it to a seven-year-old girl! Didn't even try sending me a letter later! He even managed a few for Kikyou, Mom, and even Souta and Kaede! But me? I got nothing except a stupid jewel that's probably going to end up killing me!" Everyone went rigid except for the three fighters as Kagome screamed at Sango. Yusuke got up, but he didn't have a chance to say anything before Kikyou put her final words in.  
  
"Perhaps he said nothing because the jewel was all that needed to be said. You weren't worth more of his words." The words were cold water on Sango, who looked at Kikyou in horrified shock, and Kikyou was no better, desperately seeking her sister's gaze, wishing those words, barely said, had never left her mouth. "Kagome... I-"  
  
"Maybe you're not worth anymore of mine." The words were cold and each one seemed bitten off. Even Shippo was trembling at the way Kagome's eyes had turned dead as the girl turned and left the clearing on steady, unwavering feet.  
  
"Every time something goes right, someone has to fucking mess it up," Yusuke glared at the whole clearing, stomping off after Kagome.  
  
"Why does it seem after every fight our leaders end up going after each other?" Botan asked wearily. It wasn't a bad thing, she just felt lost without them there.  
  
"Because we're all assholes who don't deserve to talk to them right now," Inuyasha muttered. His ears were flat on his head and he was glaring at Sango, though for some reason he couldn't rouse any anger at Kikyou, who for once was showing every emotion on her face and was looking heartbroken.  
  
"I'm sure... Well... Kikyou..." Sango stopped, not sure if Kagome _would _forgive Kikyou for that comment. Confirming the one thing Kagome didn't want to hear wasn't the best idea.  
  
"You're all bakas," Hiei commented. Botan coughed suddenly, raising a blue eyebrow. Hiei looked away and Botan smirked unseen. If he was going to call them bakas, he would have to admit, at least to himself, he'd done a couple of stupid things himself.  
  
Shippo looked forlorn and went to go after his two favorites among the group and found two blue bodies on either side of him. He didn't have a telepathic link tot hem, but he understood the body language. He settled between them, content to lie in the comfortable body heat if they thought it was okay. After all, they would know if something was wrong, right?  
  
Back at camp, Kagome had entered her tent, taken her bow, and had every intention of striding off into the woods and letting her shields down, a basic invitation to any demon after them to come and get here. When she killed them all, that would show Kikyou who was worth the words. Unfortunately, a dark haired super powered teenage boy had different ideas as he firmly took the bow out of her hands and grabbed her arm to keep her from running away.  
  
"Kagome-"  
  
"Shut up. I don't want to hear it. Let me go and get away from me." If Yusuke hadn't known that she was simply saying that to anyone and not particularly to him, he might have been hurt. Instead he was just furious. Furious at what, he couldn't say, but when Yusuke was angry, it wasn't a good thing.  
  
"Sit down Kagome. Now!" The barked order had no effect except to get him gifted with that peculiar deadened expression as she stayed exactly where she was. Yusuke shuddered but glared at her anyway, dragging her off to some of the grass beneath the earth like trees. Even if the sky was sometimes an odd color, Europa was still mostly earth like.  
  
"Down Kagome, because like hell am I going to let you go anywhere in your state." Yusuke snorted when she attempted a bright smile and said, "I'm perfectly fine, I just need some time to think, ok?"  
  
"Drop it Kagome. You're eyes are more blocked off than your sister's usually are and their almost as gray as hers are." He saw her eyes flicker and knew she was going to try again. In frustration he dragged her down to the ground beside him and scowled.  
  
"Fucking hell Kagome, she didn't mean it!" He said once she started glaring at him. She immediately tried to get away and he only pulled her closer.  
  
"Then she shouldn't have said it! You don't say lies like that in anger, Yusuke! And it's true! Everyone knows it! I'm not worth anything to anyone other than being the Guardian of their precious bobble. I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason Kikyou had the others choose me as leader is because I have the jewel, and everyone knows the leaders are always the self-sacrificing ones, which is what I was to the others, before I was the Guardian! I wanted them to be happy, I still do, and nobody understands! Sango's mad at me, I wouldn't be surprised if you're still mad at me, but none of you, not even Kikyou, understand how this is! Father left me with this, and he left it with me knowing that the Prophecy was in the works and that this jewel was going to kill me!" Angry tears and struggles to get away accompanied Kagome's burst of anger, but Yusuke ignored most of her struggles, focusing on the words. He felt his heart stop at the last words and if anything held tighter on to Kagome.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Yusuke asked, managing to keep the gruff anger in his voice and the fear from showing.  
  
"The Prophecy! He never gave me it all, but everyone knows parts of it, s-so I asked around. It says a lot of things, like "One will die and come back again, strength increased tenfold" and "Only when the Guardian and Controller are one with the Jewel can the true power be displayed" and so many other things, but there's a line... I can't remember it exactly. It say something about the Guardian's death." Kagome had turned away, still crying as she announced that, as far as she was concerned, her life was already planned out right to her death.  
  
"I'd fight to the last gate in hell and back before I let that happen," Yusuke said fiercely. Kagome's crying stopped suddenly and she wiped her eyes, staring at him like he was a stranger.  
  
"This Prophecy can't be the end all and be all, right? It's just a puffed up version of those antique eight balls you see around." Kagome almost giggled at the image, but her eyes, a sad blue-gray now that she wasn't just trying to go out and kill everything, showed that she didn't believe him.  
  
"It won't happen Kagome. Ever. They'd have to get through me to do it, and I'm not dying anytime soon."  
  
_'Nor I. _Elako and Tairi echoed at the same time. Yusuke smirked and Kagome managed a half-smile. Looking around and grimacing, Yusuke pulled her closer and studied her tear stained face with more gentleness than he had shown to anyone since Keiko.  
  
"See? Can't go wrong, we have the ultra powerful and yet silly looking babies on our side." Yusuke grinned when she actually giggled at the protests from Tairi and Elako.  
  
_'You didn't call Zasar or Alenia silly looking, and they're birds!'_Elako protested.  
  
"Thank you, but this doesn't really change anything. The Prophecy has been right so far in the past. It's about the whole life of the Shikon no Tama, not just us. Just the important parts are happening now." Kagome gave another smile, honestly cheered up and beginning to lock away that unbearable loneliness that she'd managed to hide ever since she'd heard those lines. She hadn't expected that she'd ever have to tell someone about that, not even Kikyou. But she'd said she wasn't worth it... and she probably wasn't. After all, he was a Great Prophet, he must have known the prophecy. He chose her. He sent her to her death.  
  
"Damn it, you aren't going to die! Ever!" Yusuke was frustrated at her pain filled smiles.  
  
"Yusuke, the prophecy..." She stopped suddenly when he leaned forward, carefully taking the chain around her neck and pulling it up until the jewel rested in his palm, careful to make sure they both weren't touching it at the same time.  
  
"I don't care if I have to use this jewel to destroy everyone in our way, enemy or ally, I'll make sure this is one prophecy that doesn't come true." Kagome couldn't help but believe the sincerity in his voice and her eyes brightened happily. He smirked a bit, and neither was willing to back off. Two irritating Setrans were egging them on in the back of their minds, and when Yusuke dropped the jewel, still being careful, and his hand started to retract his hand, two pairs of eyes met.  
  
Yusuke closed the distance between them, his lips find hers in a gentle kiss, while still shuddering over the feeling she'd given him when she'd said she was going to die. This was almost the opposite, and even he in all his impatience wasn't going to ruin it by going to fast.  
  
Kagome had other ideas. Words weren't enough to comfort her and soon enough the kiss became deeper than they had planned. If they'd been planning. If the logical parts of their minds were still working. Fortunately, neither was stupid enough to do more than kiss.  
  
When they did part, Kagome sighing a bit in disappointment, both backed away slightly, their foggy teenage minds clearing of the emotional roller coaster they'd just put themselves through and when Kagome tried to back off Yusuke pulled he back beside him. They didn't say anything, but he kissed her gently on the lips again, and this time neither deepened it from the innocent and sweet kiss it was.  
  
This sigh was more blissful, and Kagome's eyes snapped open at Yusuke's laughter. She pouted, but he just shook his head. "Kind of glad I was the one who went after you if this was the kind of mood you were going to be in."  
  
"I wouldn't have even gotten past wanting to kill things if it had been anyone else," Kagome slipped out before she could stop herself. "I certainly wouldn't have kissed any of the others."  
  
Yusuke looked away, smirking as Elako still sounded confused in the back of his mind. _'That was a kiss? What fun is that?'  
  
_"Make that definitely glad then," Yusuke commented, grinning at her from the corner of his eyes. She was blushing crimson, but there was the warmest look in her eyes and he hoped that none of the others came looking for them anytime soon.  
  
-  
  
Worlds away, a man woke up and began cursing. "Damn it all to hell! That wasn't what I meant at all! And how dare he kiss her! He can't touch her! She's _my _daughter!"  
  
"She hasn't been you anything since she was seven. Even Inuyasha kissed her. What happened?" A golden-eyed Sesshoumaru was already waiting as the man awoke, and a pink-haired Genkai.   
  
"She's so stupid. I didn't send anything to her because I didn't want to risk saying anything! You're not supposed to have favorites among your children, but she's my baby girl! I never got to know Souta and Kaede, and Kikyou always had parts of her father. I loved her too much to risk her life! I couldn't write a letter without saying that, and electronically or the old fashioned way, even one little letter to her being taken could have ended it all! I love her, damnit! I had to give her the Shikon! I didn't have a choice! And.. And... He _kissed _her. He kissed my daughter!" Tenashu was raging, a blue glow flickering around his form and making Sesshoumaru briefly alarmed for his own safety. The human was stronger than he had expected.  
  
"I'm guessing Yusuke finally made a move," Genkai said, for once not using a nickname. She wasn't sure whether to be proud or disapproving. What were you supposed to think when the two kids that were supposed to be saving the peace of the races were spending more time with each other than they were preparing for the fight?  
  
"Damn right he did. On my daughter!" Sesshoumaru's lips twitched into an almost smile. It was amusing to watch the man twist himself around for a girl he hadn't seen in almost a decade.  
  
"Why haven't they left the planet yet?" Sesshoumaru asked, steering the topic in a different direction.   
  
"Three eggs have yet to hatch. Though I doubt the kitsune's will hatch any time soon. It's waiting for something. They'll have to take it with them." Tenashu seemed disturbed by that.  
  
"To Mars? Naraku could very well steal that and the last egg. If it is destroyed before it hatches it could very well hurt the boy and send all eight of them into furious revenge." Genkai eyed Tenashu sharply and saw the man glance at Sesshoumaru, weighing his options.  
  
"I know. I believe we will have to send the other egg holder to them instead of waiting until they get here. Obviously the eggs are hatching in pairs. Perhaps if we hurry they will hatch before they reach Mars." Tenashu smiled nervously when Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Not that they could get much more narrow.  
  
"Who is the other holder?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice already practically in a growl. Tenashu mumbled something and Sesshoumaru snarled.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Sesshoumaru-"  
  
"She's staying here." The usually calm taiyoukai was rigid and Tenashu wondered nervously if that red tint was his own imagination.  
  
"Sesshoumaru, Tenashu is right. He's given up practically his whole family for this." Genkai met the dog demon's gaze coolly. She may not have her Spirit Orb any longer, but she could still put up a good fight if it came down to it.  
  
"She's too young. And he still has the younger ones," Sesshoumaru said sharply.  
  
"Fool. No I don't. You think they're untouched by this? Like Kikyou, they're interwoven into the Prophecy too. Even Sango's little brother is involved with this! You think Rin's so young? Souta's around the same age, if not younger, and Kaede's only a little older. She's older than Kagome was when I gave her the Shikon no Tama, and only a bit younger than Kagome was when your brother almost killed her. If we don't send her now, she'll be found eventually. Would you rather her have a chance to get her egg, the one thing that will protect her the most, or be eventually captured by Naraku or Resurga? It's your choice Sesshoumaru. I can let my children go for the good of the galaxy, of Makai and Ningenkai. Can you?" Tenashu's blue eyes gleamed passionately and Sesshoumaru's amber eyes glared into his, no longer holding even a tint of red. Something he'd said had made the dog demon think.  
  
"We will send her on one condition." Sesshoumaru's eyes gleamed with an unknown emotion.  
  
"Oh?" Tenashu looked curious.  
  
"They will do as they've done with the kitsune, except more so. Instead of Kagome and Yusuke looking after her, I want her to be under the direct protection of Inuyasha and Kikyou. If anything happens to her, they pay the price." Tenashu winced at the calm and deadpan voice, then nodded.  
  
"Kikyou and Inuyasha will be the ones to protect her. I'll send Rin with messages. For all of them." A small smile lit his face. Perhaps with a message that Rin carried he could undo some of the damage that he had done to his daughter.  
  
As the three settled down to speak of the most recent events, both sides were making plans. Rin would be sent to the teenagers. Goshinki was to go to Europa and head off the dangerous group of teens before they could leave the planet. Resurga watched in amusement, idly throwing another minor horde of demons towards the teens, waiting and watching as the teens came together and split apart in regular intervals. The Congress was foolish to think those weak little teens could ever stand against her. They would, fortunately, be useful to her in their own way.  
  
------------  
  
Next time on Unlikely Allies: Lots of fighting. Shippo catching Kagome and Yusuke. Botan and Hiei having a one sided talk. He "Hn"s, she talks. Goshinki comes to play.  
  
Reviewer responses:  
  
Winged Knight: I have all sixteen planned out. None of them will be OCs. I'm sure you can guess who a few of the others are by Tenashu and Sesshoumaru's little conversation. There might be a story coming up where I will accept OCs though. Thanks for the compliment!  
  
tensi-notia: More secrets were supposed to happen in this chapter, but I didn't get to any besides Kagome's little prophecy revelation. I haven't even explained all of the Shikon no Tama origins yet. So much to do! Thanks for the compliments. I hope you review again!  
  
andrea10: I have a lot of stories I'm working now, so everything takes awhile. I know it seems like I only have four, but I have a bunch more posted on my yahoo group and even more I haven't posted anywhere yet. So, sorry about the long wait, but thanks for still reading!  
  
Sango132004: Thanks for reviewing! Obviously your pairings weren't all correct, but you at least got one right! Review again!  
  
Artemis Crescent: Thanks! If you didn't figure it out, these two were Phoenixes. Their powers, as well as Tairi's and Elako will come out eventually. And the Gryphons who have yet to be born. Thanks for liking it!   
  
blazingsunstar: Thank you.  
  
Fire Kitsune Goddess: Gryphon types, the mystical horse types, dragon types, and phoenix types. It's too bad I can't draw, otherwise I'd make pictures of all of them and show people what they look like!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
  
Chapter 11 - Desperate Fights  
  
In a medium sized clearing eight teens stood, six team members lost without their leaders and two more teens feeling out of place as depression seemed to roll around the clearing in waves of teenage angst. The younger Comet, the brunette Keiko, was feeling unnerved being in the presence of so many creatures that ate energy. Miroku was attempting to put himself between her and the Setrans without making it obvious he was doing so. He wasn't having much success.  
  
He didn't really believe they were dangerous, but he didn't want Keiko frightened of them so early on. She'd had some bad experiences with energy eating demons since the boy part of the eight-member team had last seen her. Everyone seemed to have gone through a lot, more than anyone should have. What right did fate have to pick those eight teenagers to do anything? Or the rest of the people the Prophecy spoke of, including, apparently if he had been reading the signs right since they'd been sent here, him and Keiko?  
  
With a sigh, the noncombatant with monk like training sat down, frowning as his attention was drawn away, to the sky. He sensed something weird. If he didn't know any better, he'd have said it was...  
  
"Demons," Miroku heard the fire apparition, Hiei, say. "Many of them, all weak."  
  
The group seemed to shrug off the depression and were in an instant on their collective feet, getting themselves ready for battle. Sango had her boomerang with her, as always. Did she never put that thing down? Then there was Botan, she had a number of guns on her person, but she seemed to be going for her usual, the standard gun they were all issued. Having no offensive powers to speak of, it was easier to use the gun and the energy within.  
  
Miroku frowned and looked in the direction Yusuke and Kagome had gone. Kagome could sense demons better than anyone. Why hadn't she come running? She had left the clearing a good half an hour ago and after a brief energy spike he hadn't sensed much. Not that he himself could stay long. Comets were strictly non-combat, at least on the ground.  
  
"Oi, kit, go see what Yusuke and Kagome are doing. They'll be even angrier with us than they already are if they miss a fight." Inuyasha managed a good representation of his usual smirk and Shippo leapt up, Tairi and Elako leaping with him, looking oddly sly for horse like creatures.  
  
_'Zasar, do you know what they're up too?'_ Inuyasha asked his black and white overly large birdlike Setran. It just glared at him from where it had been playing with the larger dragon Setrans and Kikyou's purple bird. He seemed angrier and wilder than the other Setrans, and all of them still seemed less mature than Tairi or Elako seemed to be.  
  
The Setran send a negative, not in words, but in feelings. Inuyasha looked frustrated and Kurama peered at his own egg that he could have sworn was shaking slightly before looking over to Inuyasha. "I don't believe they'll speak too much until their older. Apparently, from the reactions I see from Yusuke and Kagome, the horse ones do, but... they hatched so soon after the Shikon no Tama incident."  
  
Inuyasha actually grinned. "It's much easier to let it go when you don't even know what's going on."  
  
Kurama took the slightest offense and raised his head slightly. "I'm sure when mine hatches, I'll be able to figure it out in an instant."  
  
"If everyone could be so kind, perhaps we can focus on the impending demon horde instead of chatting about the mysteries of our Setrans," Kikyou said dryly. Despite that she was speaking to them, her gaze was fixed firmly in the direction she had last sensed Kagome, watching anxiously for her appearance. Surely she wouldn't leave them to fight by themselves just because she was slightly angry with them?  
  
"Here they come," Botan said nervously. Surprisingly each boy was by the side of one of the girls, and whether from choice or simply because there was no one else, she caught sight of black fabric out of the corner of her eyes. Still nervous after his intrusion in her mind, she shifted her gaze away, up into the oncoming horde.  
  
-  
  
Shippo had stopped the moment he saw Kagome and Yusuke, unable to do anything but gape at two teenagers who were... kissing! And they even looked like they were almost _cuddling! _What was wrong with them?  
  
Tairi and Elako were having the time of their lives watching the young kitsune watch their respective bonded's touch gently as their lips met. A part of them didn't want even the kitsune to disturb them. For once, they had forgotten the outside world and were pretending they were normal teenagers. Just new and gentle touches, still hesitant and awkward and unsure. The two Setrans didn't understand everything this implied, but they understood they were happy. Wasn't Yusuke's happiness important? Wasn't Kagome's?  
  
It was Shippo, finally remembering his mission, who disturbed them. The Setrans had been silent both physically, and to the new couple, mentally for a long time now. "Um... Hiei said there are demons coming this way... They, uh, were sorta wondering where you two were."  
  
Yusuke and Kagome sprang apart, looking a bit rumpled and Kagome unconsciously licked her lips. Shippo wrinkled his nose then backed off as Yusuke glared at him. "I'll... tell them you're coming."  
  
The kitsune was quick to dart off. The Setrans split, Elako going with him to guard the kitsune, despite the fact that the kit could probably do more than he could. Tairi stayed and pranced around the two, her clawed feet lifting high as she half reared and let out a little laughing neigh at the two. _'Come on, you're being slow. Don't you want to fight the demons? That's gotta be more fun than that..._kissing_ you were doing. Hurry up!'  
  
_Like a child the fanged horse raced around them before bolting off towards the rest of the team and other five hatched Setrans. Kagome and Yusuke exchanged glances, hers nervous and still full of bitterness at her sister. Yusuke could already feel the dreamy quality of the past few minutes falling around them. He walked close to her, hoping she was also remembering the conversation _they_ had just had, before they'd started doing other things.  
  
Kagome herself was hoping the last few minutes had not just been comfort, but something else. Hesitatingly, insecure and wanting to snatch the appendage back, she slipped her hand towards Yusuke's, raising her face with a tentative smile when he didn't pull away. He was smirking at her silently. They walked back to group preparing for battle, hands interlocked.  
  
There was no time for gaping as Kagome picked up her quiver and put it over one shoulder, the picked up her bow, one hand still holding Yusuke's. At least, there shouldn't have been time for gaping. There was, however, time for Yusuke to smirk at a dumbfounded Inuyasha before swiftly kissing Kagome once more and reluctantly withdrawing his hand to look up to the sky for the demon horde they could all sense.  
  
"Kagome?" Botan called tentatively. She was perhaps the only girl who would dare talk to Kagome at this point. Kagome gave her a soft confident smile and mouthed 'Later'. Botan's relieved smile twisted at Kagome's heart but then the first demon came into view and they began settling into a fighting routine. Unfortunately, the group had only fought twice together and it was a bit confusing in the first few moments.  
  
"Excuse me, but I do believe arrows should be aimed that way," Kurama pointed out as one of Kikyou's arrows swept through the arrow a bit too close for comfort.  
  
"Watch where you are aiming," Kikyou said coolly to Yusuke, deciding to assume that the Spirit Gun shot barely missing her was an accident. She ducked swiftly as one of her sister's arrows went over her, opening her mouth before feeling the demons behind her turn to ashes.  
  
"Oh dear," Botan said. Things weren't going so well and she and Hiei were probably the only two without scratches of some kind. Mostly thanks to Hiei burning anything that came close. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work forever and though the demons were weak, there were a lot of them, even more than Tetsusaiga could clear up in the times when Inuyasha managed a clear shot.  
  
A sudden cracking sound briefly distracted Kurama and he was just in time to see his own egg disappear in a flash of light, replaced by a very strange creature. It looked much like a lion cub, perhaps a bit bigger, except that it's tail had feathers attached and its head was shaped like an eagle's until the head met its shoulder where they turned cat like again. Of course, it also had wings. The strangest thing was that it was all green. A lighter green for the lion fur, a darker green on its feathers.  
  
The instant it hatched the creature had launched itself forward, sharp hooked beak biting into the closest demon. Immediately the demon screeched and disappeared, not into ashes, but as if sucked out of energy. Kurama blinked as it looked at him, managing to speak two words. _'Sako hungry.'  
  
_Kurama stared as it attempted to do the same thing to another demon... and was promptly thrown away. At the same time the newborn hit the ground Kurama gasped at the sudden flash of pain tearing through his head. The demons seemed to notice his response, and the other Setrans nearby.  
  
With cackles of glee they refocused their efforts in an attempt to go for what looked like the easier target. There was a flash of hooves and horn as the first demons went near the phoenix and dragon types and a mental cry that none of the humans or demons heard. _'Like this. You hit them **like this**!'  
  
_Elako, despite that he had done much better than the others had been doing, was soon surrounded and the other Setrans quivering in fear, thoughtless emotional waves of anguish and desperation making their bonded wince and clutch their heads.  
  
The newborn Sako gave what unaccountably looked like a sneer before launching his small body into one of the demons lashing out at Elako, his mind remembering the simple instinctual process the winged foal had shown them. A little bit of energy in his claws and teeth, and the attacks went that much farther!  
  
Elako's terrified neigh made the whole crowd wince even as the team desperately fought towards the group of hatchlings. Kagome's way was simpler, if more dangerous.  
  
She had dropped her bow, holding her hands out straight towards the demons in front of her and towards the hatchlings. A glance towards Kikyou was all the warning she was able to give, but it was enough time for the other miko to signal Botan to either shield or pull back Hiei. One glance at Hiei and Botan immediately chose shield. He didn't even appear to remember exactly what he was doing anymore, so focused on the next slash of blade and fire.  
  
Yusuke had flinched as his bonded cried out. It was intensified by the bond between them, echoing through his mind and almost numbing out the sensations around him. Even with the fear tumbling through his mind from another being, he focused, feeling the energy gathering into the familiar form of the Spirit Wave. He never had to use it.  
  
There was a pink flash through the clearing and a few screeches. It continued on in an endless wave for almost ten seconds, going farther and farther out before it stopped and Kagome swayed on her feet, glaring at the now much smaller horde of demons that were hovering above the clearing. Tairi's clawed hooves padded across the clearing to Elako. Somewhere during the fight, the other horse type had also fought a few demons and blood coated her fangs and claws, a greenish black blood. A childish look appeared in her eyes before she plopped herself down next to the blue alicorn and nuzzled the unconscious creature. _'Elako's sleeping,'_ She informed Kagome and Yusuke.  
  
"God damn it, why won't they just die," Inuyasha growled as he watched what was left of the demon horde, mindlessly hovering above them. Hiei glared around him, then up at the demons above, raising his right arm. The Jagan eye began glowing and Inuyasha swore. "Everyone _down_!"  
  
"Wha-" Sango was cut off when Kurama pulled her down firmly to the ground. She had no time to snap angrily as a dark fire raced up Hiei's arm, forming a shape that had Dedran, the black dragon Setran raising his head in curiosity.  
  
"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" There was a roar and a black fiery shape that ripped through the remaining demons, chasing down strays and causing damage wherever it touched. Trees were shred and earth torn up as the dragon roamed free after its prey, a hissing mass of certain death.  
  
Botan had thought she'd seen it all, but even before she'd been human, in the memories she only now could really remember, she hadn't remembered anyone ever having actually been able to control that dragon and keep it from a rampage. But here was the proof that she had definitely not seen it all.  
  
Kagome was exhausted from her brief explosion of power that was a follow up from a seemingly endless battle with Tairi and Yusuke fighting beside her. Now she didn't even know if she could get up. She closed her eyes, her head swimming at the demonic energy in the clearing, shuddering at the oppressive and impressive aura of the dragon killing and hunting and murdering above her.  
  
Then there was a blessed silence and Kagome relaxed. With a sigh she opened her eyes and struggled into a weak standing position. Shippo was there, nuzzling her and burying his head in her face, commenting, "I like purified demons better. There's no burnt smell left behind like my fire, or... or _that _fire."  
  
The clearing was now a mess, no longer the green meadow it had been, only three glistening eggs remaining, two small and one larger one with spider web designs across its shell.  
  
Kagome frowned and looked closer at the egg, her eyes soon widening. Those weren't spider web designs, those were thin little cracks! "Sango!"  
  
Briefly forgetting she should be angry with the girl, Kagome grinned at her friend and pointed to the egg. "It's hatching!"  
  
"Whoa. He heals fast," Yusuke muttered, watching as his setran glowed and the scratches and bruises began disappearing.  
  
_'He's using energy taken from demons he managed to kill before they surrounded him. Eating it gives us energy to live and grow. When he's done healing, he'll start growing. When I sleep, I'll grow too! So will the new one, Sako.'_ Tairi informed both Yusuke and the distracted Kagome.  
  
Sango's egg disappeared in a flash of purple light, revealing the same type of setran as Kurama's, a gryphon type. But where Sako had the front legs of a lion, this new female's bird parts extended to her taloned legs and feathers and fur met on her front legs. But, instead of feather lion's tail, it was an ordinary lion's tail. The feathered parts were silver, the lion hindquarters, back, and tail a shimmering gold color. Her hooked beak clicked open and closed once as she yawned, promptly falling backwards and to one side, folding her wings tightly and curling up to sleep.  
  
"She seems a bit lazy," Kurama remarked with a chuckle. Shortly afterwards his own setran, the size of a large lion cub, bounded up to him and wrapped itself around one leg, gnawing energetically.  
  
"And _he _seems a bit wild. The only normal ones are the dragons, and they enjoy trying to kill each other. Inuyasha's bird tried to eat him, Kikyou's bird is just a bit odd, and _theirs _are just really odd." Sango ticked off the different items on her fingers, jerking her head to Yusuke and Kagome at the end. The two had separated themselves slightly from the others.  
  
Inuyasha frowned as he looked around, noticing a certain lack of two messengers. "Oi, where's the pervert and that girl?"  
  
"Here," came a cheerful voice from across the clearing. Miroku was brushing himself off from where he had hidden himself and Keiko inside the ground. "We are, unfortunately, not supposed to fight except in extreme situations."  
  
"Keh. Yeah right. Cowards." Miroku's eyes flashed and he gripped something stiff in his hand and it soon extended into a staff. "Care to test that theory of yours?"  
  
"Ye-"  
  
"No, he would not. Inuyasha, you should know that of anyone, Miroku has one of the best reasons to want to fight." Kagome's gaze was flinty as she stared grim-faced and determined at the hanyou who flattened his ears and looked away from both monk and miko. "Keh."  
  
Meanwhile, Botan was attempting to start a conversation with the fire apparition. "Who did you learn that from, anyway? I didn't think there was anyone left who knew about that technique, but obviously you've used it before since the other boys knew about it."  
  
Hiei's crimson eyes slid to her and for a moment it seemed he was going to answer. Her shoulders slumped when he didn't and his eyes simply slid off of her again.  
  
"Hn," Hiei said suddenly when Botan turned her back and began to walk away. She turned around and saw, for the first time, he seemed to hesitate. Then it was gone and she was sure it was trick of her imagination. "You dropped this."  
  
He threw her a gun and then was gone. Her lips quirked into an amused smile and she went over to her scared dragon trying not to laugh. Sango looked up inquiringly as she began to hum. Botan just shook her head. "It's nothing Sango. I just think it's amusing that just because I can't use much of my own energy everyone believes that I can't see when they use theirs."  
  
Sango looked at her in confusion and Botan smiled happily. Maybe eventually he would answer her questions. Because she hadn't dropped a gun. He'd taken it from her to have reason to turn her back.  
  
-  
  
Another day passed and that night Kikyou was feeling her sister's absence in the tent. She had once gotten up to try and find her. Hopefully she could have patched everything up. The sight outside had broken her heart. Her little sister was having a nightmare, and a terrible one at that. Inarticulate cries rang through the air and Kikyou had begun walking over to wake her before she woke everyone else.  
  
There had been no need for her there. Instead, she had seen Yusuke, his usually slicked back hair messy and lying more natural on his head after the day of fighting. It was the most identifiable trait in the moonlit night. He had crouched down beside her and hadn't even had to wake her. He had simply whispered her name to the wonderfully clear and silent night and touched one shoulder as if about to wake her. And the younger miko and quieted down, sighing audibly and falling into a more comfortable sleep.  
  
Kikyou hadn't bothered watching for the boy leader's surprised response, instead flinging herself onto her bedroll, her teeth clicking together in the only visible sign of the envy running through her. She, even when they were children, had never been able to silence Kagome's nightmares so easily.  
  
Keiko and Miroku had slept in their ship, in two different bedrooms, but Miroku, like many nights, had crept onto the roof of the ship and looked up at the sky, contemplating his fate and clenching his cursed hand. He too had seen the scene, so normal looking, but had grinned instead, especially at the boy's shocked reaction. But, when Kagome fell, she always did fall hard. Just like now Inuyasha's presence at night would probably immediately wake the girl, Yusuke's sent her into a peaceful sleep. If only it was that easy for everyone.  
  
Hiei and Inuyasha both slept outside as always, but Hiei had ignored the cries and Inuyasha knew he would only make them worse. Inside the tent that now only Kurama seemed to be using, Shippo had crept in, letting his favorites of the team help each other through the night. Kurama, silently, had agreed. It wasn't like Yusuke ever slept much anyway; a reaction to something Resurga had done once to him perhaps, or perhaps just because he was so paranoid.  
  
Whatever it was, by the time everyone was awake in the morning, it was almost noon and the two who usually were up early, and Yusuke always first, were for once last. Yusuke had fallen asleep by Kagome's side, one hand caught in her hair in a tender touch that was rare to see from any of them. Kagome had awoken first and blushed, moving away from the too close position. She was used to sleeping with Shippo curled up near her and another body in the tent, but she had never slept that close to a boy who wasn't related to her or Miroku.  
  
Kagome was careful not to wake him until she was an appropriate distance away and then she leaned forward to shake Yusuke awake, unknowingly giving Yusuke a nice view as he awoke.  
  
"We should wash up and get dressed and find out if it's closer to lunch or breakfast. It's pretty late in the morning I think." Kagome was thoughtful, and then noticed the smirk on Yusuke's face as he opened his mouth and she shot him a glare. "And no, I didn't mean to wash up together."  
  
"I was thinking no such thing," Yusuke attempted, failing when he grinned at her.  
  
"Please, I grew up with Miroku who had hit on ever girl in the neighborhood by the time he was thirteen and used every innocently made statement to his own advantage." Still, Kagome couldn't help her own smile from spreading across her face, soothing her still upset emotions that jumped up at the prospect of seeing Kikyou, knowing they'd have to talk soon.  
  
The two quickly ate and followed their friends auras to the demolished egg clearing, noting with relief the two leftover eggs had been moved, Shippo's and the unbonded one. There they found some things had changed. Kagome squinted thoughtfully at Elako and Tairi. They looked bigger, and it could have been her imagination, but their coats seemed darker, Tairi's light blue no longer sky blue but a light sapphire and Elako's deepening to nearly blue-black. Kurama's Sako had also grown, it seemed, which would have made the creature's play a bit more dangerous if they had been a normal group of teenagers.  
  
"There's something coming today," Miroku informed them calmly as they entered the clearing. "Of the spider variety, I believe. Big, stupid, but special."  
  
Kagome looked at him sharply as everyone else, including Keiko, looked confused. Sango gave a tolerant snort. "Some kind of old friend's code? So, what's coming?"  
  
"We just had a fight," Kagome grumbled, still feeling the effects of draining so much energy in so short a time.  
  
"What? What's attacking now?" Yusuke asked, frustrated at the secrecy.  
  
"I'm not sure actually. As I told Kagome, it's something from Naraku, not very smart, but it has something special too it. Being a monk I can sometimes sense danger and it's form before it comes. Considering I was not going to be allowed in battle, I honed that talent the best I could so those that could would have some advantage." Miroku went silent, but it was interrupted as everyone, no matter the race heard the next statement coming from the woods behind them.  
  
_'That is no advantage when the one you are getting information of know of the advantage already. It's no great thing when I can pluck the thoughts and emotions out and laugh at how many beings think they can still beat me.' _Everyone froze and twisted around to look at the large purple thing that had appeared. He had crimson eyes and purple skin, and was three times the height and width of any of them easily.  
  
_'Puny creatures._ _I am Goshinki, and I will be the last thing you pathetic thorns in the side of my father ever see. I will slaughter you, rip your bones from your flesh, I will-' _Goshinki stopped and moved surprisingly fast to one side, avoiding the whip that hadn't even been fully transformed when Goshinki had begun to move.  
  
"What the hell?" Yusuke and Inuyasha unconsciously snarled in unison. Goshinki focused on those two and his teeth bared into a terrible grin. _'I have heard of you both and what Resurga and Naraku have done to you. Your energy is very special to Resurga, is it not, human? And you, hanyou, with your precious sword, broken and reforged. Ah, I have plucked the secret from your very thoughts. All of you hold nothing.'  
  
_He dodged two arrows as he spoke, one Spirit Gun, and a fiery sword. Then he slashed at the charging setran, Elako, throwing him into a tree. This fight was going downhill fast, and Kagome could feel everyone getting desperate as they threw attack after attack after them. As long as they were thinking beings, they could not touch Goshinki. Only the younger setrans were having any progress, and their instincts were too new to guide them well.  
  
Tairi, having woken up from her own sleep, was, like Elako and Sako, had grown slightly, though most of the energy was kept in reserve. She did her best to dart to and fro; protecting both Yusuke and Kagome as best she could while Elako was knocked unconscious. Her claws churned in the soil as she desperately pulled back on Yusuke as Goshinki's claws came a bit too close. It was during this she sensed the plan churning in her desperate bonded's mind.  
  
_'No!'_ Tairi screeched mentally as Kagome dropped her useless bow and arrows and tried to grab Goshinki's dangerous claws. Her hand, she felt it briefly touch, a small bit of energy came out and for a moment triumph attempted to light itself.  
  
Pain ripped through her side. Kagome let out a brief half scream half whimper before being thrown into a tree rather brutally, blood running out of her side. The whole team was going berserk, Yusuke especially, but Goshinki was laughing. The odd thing was, Kagome could feel Tairi, but she felt no thoughts. Struggling against the black covering her visions, she opened her eyes.  
  
The last thing Kagome saw before falling unconscious was Tairi, or something that at least looked like Tairi, if the horse had been blood red with glowing eyes. She didn't see Goshinki's fall from the combined efforts of an enraged human boy and setrans, nor did she hear Shippo calling her name desperately. All she saw was blackness and the haunting image of a laughing demoness holding a beautiful pink jewel quickly turning black.  
  
---------  
A note, if anyone is in the group and would like to participate in a Round Robin, go check it out. And if anyone wants to know more about Toushin Yusuke, MajinShodaime has a wonderful essay about it in the new Essay section of Files. For those of you who want to read that but not be permanently in the group, you can join just to read it, I don't care.  
  
Preview: Yusuke panics needlessly, Kagome gets grumpy over being injured and weird dreams that seem to only get harsher as the Shikon no Tama begins to pulse behind her barrier, everyone wonders more about the setrans, and they finally actually start to get off of the planet!  
  
Review Responses:  
  
Thank you to: inu.-sess.fan, Shadow Stone, sunstar kitsune, Kakarlena, blazingsunstar, Night Beauty, Cheeza-13, bittersweet-memory, Nishigirl, IY and YYH lover, and InuyashaJunky(btw, I do have other stories to update besides this, you know) for reviewing!  
  
Winged Knight - What? A boy falling for Rin. shifty eyes I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. innocent look  
  
helen: Yeah, he can. Actually, he can see things slightly ahead of time, but no longer can he see them in a large enough time span to do anything about any of it. Only Great Prophets can do that. There is usually only one capital P prophet per generation.  
  
Edainme: I update so slowly that it's alright if you don't review, or don't review all the time. Besides, you're one of my best reviewers and I definitely like the quality better than the quantity. Apparently for everything good that happens to Kagome and Yusuke one(or a few) bad things have to happen! I'm so mean to them.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

/...

Chapter 12 - "There's something wrong here."

Shock had rippled through eight teens as Tairi, shining blood red, joined Yusuke in attack Goshinki mindlessly. Perhaps it was a trick of their minds, a mass hallucination, but in the moment Tairi struck, supported by the other shrieking, squawking and enraged setrans, the others could have sworn wind, sharp like a blade, flew in front of the setran whose eyes now glowed blue.

Yusuke, attacking from the other side, felt the wind, but tucked it into the back of his mind. When Goshinki fell under the combined efforts, fell until there was nothing left but ashes, the red setran faded to her normal blue, now turning a darker, more royal blue as she trotted over to her fallen bonded. With one last look around, the blue glow from her eyes faded and the red color of her fur totally disappeared and she collapsed next to Kagome's still form.

The human boy was the first to hover over the miko's still form and he had to be shoved aside by Kikyou and Botan, their hands glowing, one set pink, one set gold. Sango ground her teeth in frustration. She hated not being able to use healing energy. By the look on Yusuke's face, apparently he did too.

After a few minutes Yusuke looked like he was ready to begin killing things again as the two girls sat back with grim looks on their faces. "What's wrong with her?"

Inuyasha and Hiei exchanged quick glances, then one with Kurama. There was a smidgeon of panic in his tone that they didn't like hearing. Keiko was giving Yusuke the strangest look, but it was Miroku whose eyes darkened as he noticed the glowing aura around the boy. "Calm down, I'm sure she's fine."

Botan opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by an angry team leader. "Don't tell me to fucking shut up! What do you know anyway?"

"Excuse-" Kikyou tried.

"About Kagome? More than you!" Miroku snapped back. Sango groaned and edged around them to where Kurama was standing.

"You can smell things, right? How bad is she?" Sango asked worriedly. Kurama smiled soothingly. "She'll be fine. She's weak, but the two removed her from danger. I believe their worry must be about something else entirely."

Sango relaxed slightly as Yusuke and Miroku began snapping at each other over Kagome and Inuyasha flattened his ears towards his head angrily as he crouched down to talk to Kikyou. He took a few moments to digest what the older miko said, then stood up with an angry snarl towards the two. "SHUT UP!"

When the two looked as if they were going to argue with him, he continued yelling. "SHE'S FINE!"

The roar had the effect of making Miroku immediately relieved and Yusuke both relieved and embarrassed. Inuyasha rolled his amber eyes as his leader seemed to flounder for things to say before Inuyasha cut off the attempts. "You're worried, that's great. We all are. Stop panicking. Hell, I had her ripped practically to shreds that time and she lived. Goshinki barely damaged her compared to..."

Inuyasha trailed off and flattened his ears again at the looks he was getting. "Fuck. Foot in my mouth again."

"I'm sure she forgives you by now, Inuyasha," Kikyou said calmly. Miroku snorted. "For trying to kill her? Of course. For using her? Sure. For trying to steal the Shikon no Tama? That's doubtful. For using her to get to you? No. She's too protective of those she loves."

Kikyou looked away from the perceptive monk, his words stinging as she remembered the things she had said to her sister not so long ago. Her sister probably hated her now. This time it was the little kitsune, sniffing at Kagome with a relieved look, who comforted her. "Don't worry. She'll forgive you and Sango as well. She's Kagome. It's what she does."

Botan stared at the kitsune and couldn't help it. She gave the smallest little squeal and picked him up. "You are going to be having girls falling all over you when you're older. You say just the right things."

Kikyou gave a small smile. The kitsune was right in some respects. Kagome did forgive. Her heart was too big not to forgive her own sister. "Thank you Shippo."

The two girls' petted pet the kitsune, comforting him and themselves that Kagome would be fine. Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head once more and he glare halfheartedly. "When he's older? Why wait, every fuckin' girl in the camp loves him already!"

"Foxes will always be chosen over dogs," Kurama's off hand remark had Inuyasha snarling. Yusuke glanced over and there was actually a brief silence as everyone anticipated the smart comment that would be coming. The silence stretched out before Yusuke managed a weak sneer. "Kurama, don't tease the animals."

Hiei snorted at the weak reply. Everyone else seemed to take it in stride but the fire apparition curled up his lip. That only one of them was injured was better than all of them being injured. There was a slight shifting in the branches of nearby trees and when Botan looked up from Shippo, automatically searching for red eyes, Hiei was gone.

Off to one side, Miroku had settled himself on a log, watching the group with worried eyes. There were so many cracks in the growing bridges of trust between them that it would only take a few wrong words to destroy the whole team. Even now they could barely be called a team. They weren't solid enough until times were desperate. The two original groups still had stronger ties and even those had been splintered. Some of them had reworked the bonds and strengthened them, but even he could see that they were holding on to the past too much.

These eight were supposed to destroy the two who were the greatest threat to the Shikon no Tama? Miroku couldn't help but doubt it. But it wasn't his choice. He was stuck within fate's wheels as well. Fortunately he was one of the outer circle. He didn't envy them for being the prophesized saviors. He looked to Kagome's prone form and remembered his own heart almost stopping as those claws slashed into her. Under his breathe; to remind him of what he knew would eventually happen, he murmured, " 'The Shikon's chosen must give up life, eternal life given so freely.' "

The original Prophet hadn't been very clear, and the wording was odd and jilted, but it was enough that it was there. Every Prophet after that first one had eventually channeled the whole prophecy and each generation wrote it down again and again. It never changed. Some lines couldn't be figured out, but that one had always been clear. Miroku closed his eyes and shoved the lines of the prophesy out of his head, and with it the grief that always accompanied those lines. There was no time for this.

"Miroku?" The soft hesitant voice was familiar and Miroku smiled as he opened his eyes and saw the worried brown ones staring down at him. Gently he took her hand in his uncovered one.

"I'm fine Keiko. Simply calming myself and contemplating the future. Would you like to sit down?" The brunette smiled in relief and opened her mouth to answer. Before she could, he tightened his grip on her hand and tugged her down. She fell forward with a shriek and with a triumphant smirk that turned into the innocent smile of a gentleman; he caught her and pulled her close. "None of them are paying any attention to us."

Despite the fact it was a statement, both of the teenagers glanced around and then without a second thought Miroku tilted his head forward and Keiko leaned up in his lap. In the wake of the battle, the two took relief that the other was unharmed and kissed each other gently under the odd colored sky.

Sango was the first to notice and she took a swift breath, surprised that even after all this time, there was still an echo of pain at the sight. Not nearly so sharp as before, but there it was, all the same. She jumped as someone behind her murmured, "You could just look away."

It wasn't said unkindly, but instead a gentle reminder. Sango's lips settled into a grim line and she shook her head slightly as her eyes stayed trained on the kissing couple. "I don't think I can. I have to accept that they are like that. Some part of me is still holding on to him and this is the quickest way to show it's over."

"And the most painful," The redheaded teenager said quietly. There was no answer forthcoming and Kurama moved away as he caught the murmured words that Kikyou passed on to Inuyasha. Botan had passed Shippo off to Yusuke and joined the other two by the time Kurama made his way over. The four shared significant glances before Kurama cleared his throat. "Should we move her back to camp then?"

"Yes. There isn't much more we can do for her, we just have to wait for her to wake up." Kikyou glanced over to her sister as she spoke and worried gray eyes settled on the form kneeling beside the younger girl with an uncertain gaze. "They've become swiftly attached to each other."

Kurama glanced over at his teammate and then back at the miko, correctly interpreting the worry in her gaze and smiled slightly. "He won't hurt her. Not on purpose, anyway. He can be a bit dense, but I'm not surprised he went a bit berserk when she became hurt."

"They shouldn't be so close while we're on a mission. I hate to say it, but shouldn't we be forbidding this? They're supposed to be our leaders. Don't you think this might be a bit distracting?" Botan winced at the three sets of eyes that landed on her in surprise. A part of her knew they should be close, even had to be close. But that part said it was to make the prophecy work, and there were parts of it that she desperately didn't want to come true. Most of it had already, with the eight of them making a team, but there were parts of it she desperately wanted to avoid.

"It doesn't matter. We're all stubborn in our own way that being a leader is half the time only a token rank. Let them have their happiness." It was surprisingly Inuyasha who had spoken, observing them with quiet sympathy. "They've both had a hell of a time of it."

"Haven't we all," Kikyou murmured tiredly. Kurama observed the three of them quietly and silently while his kitsune half stirred restlessly. They were being to slow, and staying here when the enemy knew exactly where they were was stupid and dangerous.

"We should move soon. Once Kagome is awake we should load up the ship and get out of here. In fact, we should probably start packing things up now. Can we take her off planet now?" Kurama stifled a sigh at the glance the girls exchanged and Kikyou turned toward him, already shaking her head.

Her voice dropped as she explained, "There's something wrong here. We had an odd feeling while we were healing her and while she is physically healing fine, we can sense some mental distress. It doesn't seem caused by Goshinki, but the Shikon no Tama was... pulsing for lack of a better term. The jewel isn't normal, but it still shouldn't have done that."

The kitsune took refuge in reflexive silence as the comment set in. Only Inuyasha looked unsurprised and his expression quickly turned guarded when a sharp glance from two green eyes headed in his direction. He was remarkably easy to read, and extremely stubborn about revealing anymore than his face and body language gave away. Now was not the proper time to corner the inu demon.

Kikyou continued, either oblivious to the ongoing interaction or ignoring it in favor of keeping to the original subject. "For that reason, we would prefer she didn't leave the planet. In the close quarters of a ship, it could be unhealthy, for her, or for us."

Kurama had to settle for that and he was the one who moved off to help Kikyou with moving her sister. More specifically, he was going to move the clawed filly curled up in the grass where she had collapsed while Kikyou presumably moved the other miko. That was if Yusuke let her without taking his worries out on the older sister.

Kurama delayed in picking up the small horse, straining to filter out all the other noises. All he heard was the calm murmuring of Kikyou. He turned his head and was surprised to see that Kikyou had willingly backed away from her sister to allow the human boy to pick her up.

Seeing that his concerns were baseless the kitsune returned to his task of picking up the bulky horse-like creature. She still wasn't heavy considering what her eventual size would evidently be and his own heightened strength, but the red head was still careful as he acclimated himself to her weight.

_'Tairi not-awake.' _There was the slightest hint of worry and a lot of confusion involved in the thought and Kurama's head snapped up to look at the green gryphon staring up at him with expressionless eyes. _'Kill hurtful things.'_

Some part of him acknowledged the fact that they too would like to go kill things, but self-restraint had carried them this far. It was no use looking for things to kill. There would be plenty of chances for that later. "Not yet Sako. You did well in battle."

_'Of course.'_ The arrogance seemed so exactly _Youko _that Kurama almost dropped the clawed horse in his arms. Laughter echoed in the back of his mind and the wild looking animal gave him an amused look before suddenly turning away and bounding toward where the other Setrans were huddled.

Kurama shook off the weird feeling that he was missing something important and carried the Setran after the miko, finding that the rest of the group was beginning to trail back to camp as well. They had some packing to do.

/./

Strangely, neither of the unconscious females awoke in the next two days and it made certain males concerned. When Miroku was found talking quietly to the unconscious miko and smoothing her bangs back from her forehead, it also caused large amounts of jealousy. The only thing stopping Yusuke from throwing the boy away from Kagome was Elako's desperate attempts to get him to realize the girl would be mad at him forever if he hurt her best friend.

Not that Yusuke was the only one jealous. Keiko stared at the tender scene for almost five minutes before turning directly about and going to sleep in the ship, convincing herself it was nothing to be worried about. Botan watched the four with a sigh. Both Kagome and Miroku needed to have a talk about the differences between friends and more to Yusuke and Keiko, because apparently they didn't get it.

Miroku noticed the jealousy, but frankly he was more worried about his best friend. He knew Keiko could and would think about it logically. Kagome had been his best friend since childhood; it was as simple as that. He was worried about her, and he wasn't stupid. She should have been awake by now. Her still, pale body reminded him too well of the days spent in the hospital after Inuyasha's betrayal. The look on Kikyou's face and the fact she was now avoiding the hanyou told him she thought much the same. The teenager fingered the comet on his collar. A symbol of what he was. An observer, a messenger, perhaps even a ship fighter if necessary, but he could never be more.

He could have stayed in the fighting classes of Seghetra, and he also knew he would never have seen his friends again if he had. He would have been on some team sent on dangerous but level one missions. He also knew they would never have let him at Naraku. He would have died young, without a chance for revenge on his family line, and without an heir. Two of those things would still probably happen, but there had been an option when joining the Comets. His genetic material was stored somewhere, and now, due to his contract with the Comets, if he died, that material would be put to use, and there would, eventually, be another to his line.

He glanced down at his right hand and the slight bump under his glove. There was a band of metal in there, blessed and purified and with electronic "eyes" that watched the growth. A small part of his glove was made from that self same metal and a quick flick of his wrists and a slight burst of energy could send it sliding back and letting loose the curse that Naraku had given his line, before anyone had realized he was Naraku.

Naraku had manipulated the genes of an unborn child at least a century ago and put what amounted to a black hole in his hand. It had been to get back at one of the few who had ever successfully weakened him. When that man's wife had come to the hospital and had to stay for a few days, the hanyou had taken full advantage of the situation. And now Miroku was cursed with the hateful spite of Naraku if the form of his death, which was always drawing nearer.

He had thought he would never get a chance at Naraku. Now it appeared that fate had thrown him a bone, rewarding him for some act he had done in his life. If there was anything that he had ever done that was worthwhile, it was befriend the girl with big blue eyes who had tripped and skinned her knee right in front of him when they were only a few years old. When he had helped her, she had apparently decided that anyone who helped her was a friend of hers, and he had acquired a life long friend. One who was still unconscious, for no physical reason that any of them could see or sense.

So he patiently waited by her side for a few hours each day and ignored the curious glances from everyone except Kikyou, who had long ago acknowledged that the perverted boy and her younger sister were indeed friends, and would be staying friends for the foreseeable future.

/./

It was dark and she thought she was alone and that one thought made her bite her lip nervously. She needed some of them there. She could be alone, but she wanted company, simply to know that there was something else breathing nearby, someone who would listen when she talked, and someone to listen to. As it turned out, she didn't need to push aside those fears and find out where she was. She was not alone, and the four who took shape in front of them, each generating their own light.

The dreamlike quality of the four people in front of her led Kagome to conclude she was asleep. The fact that the light around two of them was dark red and around the other two a very light pink sent chills down her spine. These were the four souls who _were _the Shikon no Tama. She knew the legend of how the Shikon no Tama came to be well.

The jewel had been being formed by Midoriko and her husband, part of a group of genetically altered humans who each had powers that could be found in many humans, but much more powerful. The jewel was supposed to have had a tiny bit of their souls and much of their power, and it would have been the stabilizing point to the failing barrier. Instead, while it was less than half formed, a battle broke out. A demon they had asked to protect them was struggling with another demon they knew well as another human struck out at Midoriko and her husband.

Here was where the details in the legend became blurry and changed. All anyone knew was that by the end, two demons souls and two humans souls had been sucked into the Shikon no Tama, and their power with them. As it turned out, the Shikon no Tama's powers grew even beyond the four original souls. The jewel took in energy from the very air while it was still forming, and it was Resurga who was the first to find the jewel, before it had settled into the pink jewel it would eventually be.

When the demon had first picked it up, it had been a swirl of colors as the four souls fought for dominance inside the powerhouse, but as Resurga held it up, the two brighter souls were pushed back by the malignancy in his touch. Since then, who was on top and winning the battle would always depend on who was holding it.

She had never expected to be confronted with the confirmation of the jewel's history. The Shikon were standing in front of her. All of them were smiling, looking pleased with themselves. She couldn't see why.

"Don't look so confused, girl. You think we would really leave our fate up a few ignorant teenagers? None of us agree on how this should end, but we do agree that if you are going to be protecting us until the end, you need to be talked to. You fight badly, you let your anger coat your mind when you fight, and you have absolutely no idea what this jewel can really do." This was, surprisingly, from one of the two coated in the brighter light and Kagome went rigid in surprise and hurt.

"But," The demon continued, ignoring her expression, "You have a strong will, and determination. And there is much power in you. Just as there is much power in us, that if you and _he _knew how, you could access."

"To think, the Guardian and Controller, making out. That was nothing even Midoriko's little pet Prophet saw, I bet." The barb hit its target as the human woman bathed in bright light stiffened and turned to glare at human man glowing dark red.

"I don't-" Kagome began to explain she had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, besides the apparent allusion to her and Yusuke, when the first speaker held up his hand.

"Yes, yes, you don't understand. Some of which is why we are here. You and the boy need to put aside all the difference with your peers you may have, and begin to train together on the way to Mars. You've been lucky that you were trained to fight both alone and in pairs as well as in groups. You certainly didn't take your teamwork lessons to heart. Besides all the romantic connections you eight seem to be making, what other connections have you made?" Kagome opened her mouth to respond and was cut off. "None. You can fight along side the other females, the monk, and your boy. What of the fire apparition? The hanyou? The thief? If you were stuck with one of them at your back, could you fight alongside each other without actually hindering each other? It is doubtful. When you get to Mars, large hordes of demons and one or two detachments will not be all you are fighting."

"Hush. You are confusing the girl, and ridding her of the self-esteem she desperately needs. I for one think you've done well considering the situations you've been thrown into. But he is right. You all need to learn how to fight together. You need to learn each attack the members of the group have, and it should become second nature to be able to sense exactly how, when, and where each of your companions will move." The one Kagome had identified as Midoriko smiled at the confused miko girl and then sighed at the crestfallen expression.

"You need to learn not to depend on others as well. In the end, it is you who is our ultimate chosen. Even the Controller does not have the same destiny set on his shoulders as you do. There will be times when you cannot depend on them. There will be things you will have to do that they will not understand." Kagome whirled around at the fourth and final voice, realizing that the demon glowing dark red had moved behind her. He had been silent and he was close enough that if this had been real and he had wanted to, her throat would have been slit open without her knowing he had done a thing.

"Hello Guardian," The purr sent cold, icy shivers down her spine and all the confusion was swept away as fear built up. Even the human man, despite the dark aura, hadn't been like this. This demon was elegant and with a wiry, catlike build despite the fact she could sense perfectly well he was an ice demon. What scared her was his eyes held confidence and long held in anger and beneath it all, his aura was dark and malicious and swept around them. There was a desire to destroy her in him. Not for any particular reason, but simply because she was there.

"Don't look so fearful. I wouldn't kill you even if I were more substantial. Not right away. I would rather play with you first. I wonder how long I could keep you before you would break altogether? I've always wondered if what happens in your mind would reflect on your body. If I rip you open here, would you die, or could I simply do it again?" The curious musings were more terrifying than if he had been actually threatening to do it. He was perfectly calm, and speaking as if this was a normal, ordinary conversation.

"Aw, leave her alone. You know we need her. You ever want to get put in Resurga's palm; we have a lot to sink into her stubborn head. And a few requests to make." The human man was nudging the demon back and after staring for a few more unnerving moments at Kagome, he stepped away and Kagome relaxed, the dark presence of the human man beside her feeling almost normal despite the evil aura.

Finally she looked up at the four and frowned. "What requests?"

/./

It was the morning of the fourth day that they had been unconscious when Kagome and Tairi snapped awake. It was the one time of the day when not a soul was watching them. Miroku and Yusuke had been forced to go and eat breakfast with the rest of the uneasy and worried teens and the miko tilted her head before their auras lit up in the back of her mind, a rainbow of colors that couldn't be seen with her eyes.

_'You've been asleep a long time. Yusuke will be happy. May I tell him?' _Kagome sat up as she mulled over how to answer Elako. Her eyes settled on Tairi's form and her larger size and deeper color with surprise that quickly passed. She didn't have much she could be surprised over anymore. She remembered a flash of red and almost let herself get sidetracked by the vision of her horse-like Setran glowing bright red.

_'Yes Elako, you may and should. He knows you and Tairi can talk to both of us and might get angry at you if you don't.'_ Kagome smiled as she sensed the alicorn Setran's glee.

Tairi nuzzled her side affectionately before she paused a moment before informing her bonded, _'We've been unconscious for four days.'_

'We?' Kagome questioned, her mental voice startled. Her answer never came. They were interrupted by frantic footsteps as the first hopeful head popped in, familiar brown eyes raking over her body in concern as he rushed inside. Yusuke stopped short of the bed she was on, still radiating worry but Kagome could see him pulling down the guard over his features.

She smiled at his concern, her own eyes reflecting the relief that he as well as everyone else seemed to be in perfect health. Her mouth opened to speak a greeting, to soothe the concerns of the faces peeking in behind Yusuke, but a flying ball of red and gold prevented her from doing anything more than squeaking in surprise. "Kagome! You're alright!"

The kitsune had a death grip on her shirt. She noted in surprise that someone had put her back in the more formal uniform while she had slept. She had only worn the black uniform once, when she had gone to her graduation ceremony, shortly before she had been assigned to her team. She glanced up in surprise and found they were all similarly garbed, the girls in black, the boys in the dark blue of the separated school they had graduated from. Once they were either promoted to higher ranks or been declared higher levels, they would get different uniforms. As it was, they were still rookies, and therefore they still had ties to their schools.

"We packed up most of our things, including the normal sets of clothing," Botan explained in response to Kagome's questioning look. Her response was an absent nod from the miko as she returned her attention to the kitsune who had his head buried in cloth and was shaking slightly in Kagome's gentle grip.

"I thought you were dead. You weren't waking up. You were so still, just like Mama and Papa." Kagome's arms tightened instinctively at the raspy murmur. She rubbed his back soothingly and glanced up at the rest of her team to see the response. A few of them were surprisingly unguarded and in Miroku's eyes she found Shippo's concerns echoed. The memory of her torturous time in the hospital after Inuyasha's betrayal forced her to look away. That was where his memories led when she was injured, and she couldn't blame him. Her memories went the same way.

Kikyou was, as always, carefully on guard against showing too many of her emotions and she only allowed her relief and joy to show. The concerns and questions were set aside, as was her reaction to the emotions plain to see on the faces around her. Miroku's quiet relief and the affection in his eyes were for a friend, but Kikyou could see that Yusuke didn't think so in the way he clenched his fists tightly. Keiko only looked a bit upset and was struggling in vain not to be jealous.

She wasn't the only one to notice it, and Kurama and Inuyasha exchanged exasperated glances while Hiei smirked at the chaos building just from the simple look from one friend to another. Kagome stayed oblivious to the sudden emotional currents in the room, but Botan picked up on it and bit off a sigh. Nothing they did could go on without drama.

"Are we leaving soon? You mentioned that things had been packed up. I knew the tent looked a little bare." Kagome grinned at her own understatement. The tent was empty besides the small cot-like bed she was sitting on and a few medical supplies. It looked abnormally large without all that space being taken up by personal possessions and another bed.

"Yes. In fact, we were just waiting for you to wake up before Keiko and I flew the ship out of here, and hopefully unnoticed by whatever they have up there waiting for us. Obviously you were supposed to have more time to acclimate to each other and the creatures from the eggs, but that is no longer possible. Once you are-"

Kagome cut Miroku off. "I'm fine now. Just let me pack up the bed and medical supplies."

Kagome stood and handed Shippo off to Yusuke, who looked faintly alarmed to have a crying child in his hands and fumbled before attempting to cheer up the kitsune while Kagome folded up her bed. The bed itself folded up into a compact if heavy package, but the bedding was more of a problem and was promptly stuffed into a bag with no thought of packing it properly. Kikyou's lips twitched in amusement at Kagome's lackadaisical manner and Sango smiled fondly before they quickly fixed it when the girl's back was turned.

"Are you sure you're up to travel? You just woke up. We didn't even know what was wrong." Botan's eyes burned into Kagome's back intensely and the miko endeavored to sound normal. The former grim reaper obviously knew something was up.

"I'm sure. I feel fine. Just catching up on sleep, I guess." The lie slipped out too easily for Kagome's liking as rearranged the medical supplies into a package that was easier for loading.

Botan actually felt relieved. Kagome didn't seem to even know that the Shikon no Tama had been acting strangely in her sleep. Perhaps the jewel had just been responding to the energy around it. It was said that it could sometimes absorb energy instead of just give it to others. Botan could believe that was what it had been doing. The Setrans did it. That was how they grew and how they collected energy. Except, there was no reason for the Shikon no Tama to do it. The only time it had done it was by the command of one who wielded it or when it was first forming. So why had it been pulsing?

Something was certainly odd here.

/./

The last traces of the camp were obliterated when Kurama encouraged the plants in the area to grow at an accelerated rate and soon all that could be seen was the untamed wild forest of the area. Kagome caught Kurama's arm before they boarded and looked pointedly towards their small sad looking kitsune charge. He took the hint and went off collecting seeds around the area.

The ship wasn't built for many passengers and it actually only had six beds, firmly attached to the walls and in bunk like set ups, with on above the other. Two sets were attached to the left wall and the last set was in the middle of the right wall. Kagome took one look at them and ignored the grumblings from behind her about splitting into two shifts. They were already trying to argue over who received which shift.

"There will be three shifts, not two. Eight working hours, eight hours split into sections of training and downtime, and eight hours for sleeping. Somebody show me an info console. I need to split us up." The scolding voices from her time asleep were ringing in her head. She didn't even know if that had been real, or simply something from her imagination, but the Shikon no Tama seemed a heavy weight on its chain either way and some of the things they had said had merit.

A few of the ten who had stopped what they were doing looked surprised that she was taking it into her own hands. Kagome found herself a bit angry to notice this included Yusuke and Sango. Kikyou actually seemed happy with the new confidence she was showing. Miroku was giving her a supporting smile and Keiko seemed to be weighing something inside of her.

"Here. Just type it here and you can even set up the times and what they should be training in if you like. We can just leave it on so whenever someone passes by they are reminded of what they should be doing." Miroku handed over the electronic device, a set of small buttons in one corner the obvious control. The screen was presently glowing a medium blue as it waited to be given commands.

After tapping a few buttons, Kagome was soon placing in their names. Small letters had appeared on the bottom of the screen and she carefully place ten names in before splitting them into three groups and labeling which watch would be in the control room controlling the ship at what times. Kagome leaned back from the screen and placed it into a recess in the wall where it had evidently been taken from. There were murmurs of surprise from behind her as they saw where they had been placed.

"I tried to place us with the people we have had the least amount of training with. We need to know each others strengths and weakness. Right now - we don't. Some of you will complain. You don't want to be with that group. That's the point. You really think I want to be on the same watch as Inuyasha? I don't, but I have a responsibility, and so does everyone else. We can deal with this." Her voice wavered as she spoke the last sentence. She wasn't even sure she could get through training and spending most of her waking hours with Inuyasha. Kurama probably wouldn't be so bad, but it would take most of her will power not to turn every training session into an argument and a personal battle.

"What about me?" Shippo piped up. He had noticed his name was not on the list and the kitsune was a bit hurt that he wasn't considered part of the team.

"You have a choice. You can pick any time slot you want, but you will have to stay with those three - or four - people the rest of the ship ride, which may be awhile if we have to skirt around Naraku's forces. Or even worse, Resurga's forces." Kagome was back at the screen, this time her fingers hover over it as she awaited the kitsune's decision.

"Can I be on your watch, Kagome? I don't know how anyone fights, really, so it won't matter, right? And Kurama's a kitsune too! He can help me learn to fight, and about this Maker stuff!" The kitsune had perked back up and Kagome's pleased smile was all the answer he needed to his original question.

"It's nearly sixteen hundred now. That is the beginning of my watch, and the beginning of your sleeping watch, Kagome. I guess this is where we all split off, huh?" Sango looked a bit anxiously around at the others. She wasn't so sure of this new plan. Sure, they all had someone who knew at least enough about the ships to keep it on course, but Sango thought it better to do as they had before, when coming here.

They were already splitting off, three toward their beds, four towards training, and Sango, Hiei, and Keiko toward the control room. Sango didn't like this arrangement at all. She didn't like the brunette girl, and she didn't trust the fir apparition.

She also couldn't help wondering if Kagome really knew what she was doing.

/...

Ok, after this chapter, I think I'll start e-mailing people who have questions and just include everyone in the thank yous. But that'll be next chapter and forward, because I'm too lazy right now.

Thanks you to Kishiro-Kitsune05, Sherkoni, Sukera, and blazingsunstar.

animegurl5: Can you keep reviews to only two a chapter? I appreciate that you want an update, but new people reviewing sometimes gives me an extra boost and the same person doing so multiple times does the opposite. I love that you like my story so much! Just done it down. oh, and on the review table thing, you didn't put spaces between the "update"s and it kinda messed it up. Thanks for reviewing so much though! You're an awesome reviewer!

Animefreak242: Three times? I said his eyes were blue three times? -dies- I have absolutely no idea what was going on in my mind when I did that. I've noticed and fixed the mistake in chapter 2. Where is it in the other two stories? And Sango's eyes... really? They look black to me. Hmm...

Winged Knight: He would have to be a demon first, and that means he has to die. Not saying it won't happen, but he's still human so far. Berserk, yes, demon with spiffy markings, fangs, and lots of power? Not yet...

Foxylilraven: Nope, sorry, there are only four types of Setran body types. They get one of the ones already existing.

inu.-sess.fan: All the character slots are taken by real characters or in the case of Tenashu, by relations. The only Original Characters will only have bit parts, no romantic relationships or such. Sorry.

Dragon Heart: Yeah, the prophecy is something a Prophet way in this world's past made. I don't know if you would say it's what the story is based on. It's just why these characters have been brought together. I made the Prophecy up and one day will have someone actually say the whole badly done thing.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

/.../

Chapter 13 - "They have such mood swings"

Trouble couldn't keep itself away more than a day. They had done all three shifts once and Kagome's watch had finished its free time-and-training shift and had been preparing for sleep. It was then that both Kurama and Inuyasha both stumbled. Inuyasha let out a surprised yell before the two both turned and ran out of the room. Kagome and Shippo stood stunned until Tairi chimed in.

_'Sako and Zasar are getting in trouble down here,' _Tairi declared in Kagome's mind. _'You may want to come see. They've had some interesting results.'_

With that cryptic remark to hurry her steps, Kagome loped toward the small cargo area of the ship that the Setrans had claimed as their own area, afraid of what she might see. Sako, Elako, and Tairi were the three biggest of the Setrans because of the greater amount of energy they had collected during the battle, but for all that, Inuyasha's phoenix-like Setran was the one that was most noticeable. Probably because he was also the most troublesome.

She was unsurprised to see that it was he and Sako who looked the most guilty as they were scolded and screamed at by Kurama and Inuyasha respectively. It took a moment before she realized just what they had done. All eight of the Setrans were scattered around, clamping teeth and beaks into long black cylinders. Even Tairi and Elako were enthusiastically opening the sides.

"Are those the ammo for the ship's weapons?" Kagome heard Yusuke ask incredulously. His shift had appeared behind them. Miroku, Kikyou, and Botan were all peering in behind the boy-leader and Kagome frowned as she looked over them. They couldn't have been training for more than fifteen minutes by now and Miroku already had bruises while Botan was clearly upset by something that had nothing to do with the mess the Setrans were making.

"Um, yeah. They are," Kagome said absently. She shook herself out of her wool gathering and shrugged. She and Inuyasha were usually upset and bruised only a few minutes into their training as well, so perhaps there was nothing wrong.

_'They're made of delicious energy. Whoever decided making weapons with reiki and youki in them was a genius,'_ Elako said cheerfully. He faltered an instant later and his ears flattened to his head before he looked up at Yusuke. _'What? But the first one was an accident! And none of you are using them!'_

Kagome felt briefly sorry for the Setran. It was obvious that Yusuke was scolding the young creature harshly. She crossed the room and began picking up the unopened cylinders. "Tairi, tell the other Setrans they can't do this."

_'Do I have to? There is a good amount of energy in these! Look at us, we're already growing!' _Kagome lifted her head to stare around her, really taking note of the Setrans this time.

Dedran was now bigger than Tairi, though it appeared he would still be growing larger. He was only a bit bigger than a full sized horse now. Tairi was almost her full size, as, it seemed, was Elako, who had darkened to a navy blue. Ketria, the other dragon, was the same size as Dedran. With just those two, the room was beginning to get a bit cramped. Especially when Dedran attempted to extend his wings.

The gryphons were nearly the size of the Tairi and Elako, and the phoenixes were approximately the same size, if in different proportions. Kagome shook her head and then winced as Sako shrieked like any angry bird of prey and bullied his way away from Kurama and to the back of the cargo bay. Kagome looked at Tairi grimly. _'Yes, you do.'_

The Setran tossed her head and glared at her bonded sullenly before she reluctantly extended her touch to the others. There were similar tantrums from the others and Inuyasha's Zasar went even farther than Sako had when both Tairi and Inuyasha demanded he behave. The phoenix's hooked beak crashed into the weapon charge sitting at his feet and a burst of golden energy flowed into him.

Tairi whinnied in outrage, rushing forward and snapping her pointed teeth inches from his face. In return the Setran lifted off the ground with a sweep of his great wings. Kagome grimaced as she sensed Tairi's impotent rage as the bird called after her tauntingly. Then her eyes widened when she felt a ripple in Tairi's mind as the clawed horse reared. _'What are you-'_

Tairi crashed back to the ground with a triumphant neigh. Her claws glowed as pounded them into the floor and an instant later Zasar tumbled down from his place near the ceiling. The older Setran snorted and said smugly to the other Setrans, as well as Kagome, _'I don't think any of you will find flying is a good way to get away from me. I'll blow you out of the sky.'_

The tense silence that followed was broken by Yusuke yell of, "What the fuck?"

_'It's her power. She's grown enough that she can use her element now,'_ Elako told Yusuke and Kagome, his mental voice sulky. It was apparent he did not yet know how to use his. _'Every one of us has some kind of power. Dragon types can usually use theirs when they're born. The rest of us have to wait.'_

"All of them? Can any of the others use theirs?" Kagome asked curiously. Her question was answered as Tairi approached Zasar and the phoenix suddenly spread his wings. The floor rippled in the cargo bay and suddenly everyone had to grab at something to hold themselves up as the floor turned to ice.

Tairi screeched in fear and landed heavily. Kagome winced and grabbed her shoulder, feeling the pain of a nonexistent bruise. Elako managed to get himself aloft with the other five fliers. Tairi and Botan's Ketria were left on the ground to attempt to walk on the icy floor.

"Huh. Guess mine outdid yours, Kagome." Kagome glared at Inuyasha but it was Tairi who answered. She turned her attention to the hanyou and he suddenly found himself blown in to the middle of the room with nothing to hold on to.

"I'm putting all this away and going to bed. Don't get into it again," Kagome said to the eight Setrans. She briefly wished that the others were down here as well, Sango for support and Hiei because he could have melted the floor. But they, along with Keiko, were in the control room and only an emergency would have sent them out of it.

She carefully kept near the wall as she picked up the energy containers and put them back in their boxes. She found help as first Kikyou began to help, and then Kurama, and finally everyone was helping her and the boxes were put in back. Behind them the Setrans continued to hiss and screech and neigh at each other like competitive young teenagers, and Kagome found herself wondering if the Setrans were simply reflecting themselves.

Sako wasn't, at least not that Kagome could tell, but Tairi and Zasar were at odds much like Kagome and Inuyasha, and Elako was sulking, which could mean that Yusuke was as well. Ketria had simply curled up on herself in a corner and was peering at Botan anxiously. She wasn't reflecting, but instead worried.

_'Tairi... How much do our feelings affect you? We reflect each others hurts... do you reflect my feelings?'_ There was silence for a while and Kagome wondered if she was going to be answered.

_'It depends. For me and Elako, we can reflect you two almost totally sometimes. It is because our bond is so tight. The others do it as well, but less often. Usually it is just strong feelings, and hurts. Or long feelings.'_ Tairi's answer was what she had expected to hear, but Kagome puzzled over 'long feelings' for a few minutes as she worked to close one of containers for the cylinders. She must mean emotions that they felt for someone that were always there. It was the only explanation she could think of.

As the container finally closed and she sealed it tight, she was aware of the others working beside her, and who was closest. She glanced up as she finished and watch Yusuke. She knew he could tell she was watching, but he was studiously ignoring her and it took her a few moments to figure out why.

He was angry with her! She had put them in different shifts and he didn't see why. She almost wanted to shake some sense into him. It had nothing to do with them as a couple and everything to do with _all _of them working as a team.

She reached out a hesitant hand as he finished up and he finally look up when she touched his shoulder. When all she did was gaze at him in silence he finally said, 'What?"

Kagome sighed at the angry boy and briefly glanced around. Everyone was doing their best to look like they were ignoring them. Inuyasha gave it away as his ear were pointed in their direction. Still, she decided to ignore the listening crowd as best she could. "Can we talk?"

It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Yusuke actually froze and she saw a flicker of confusion and nervousness in his eyes. Then he looked up, the anger still there and the tough guy attitude in full force as he cross his arms. "Sure. Let's talk."

Kagome wanted to stomp her foot in frustration now. Instead she gave him a small glare for giving their friends even that little bit of drama and grabbed at his sleeve. "Good. We'll do it in the corner. Out of range of certain eavesdroppers."

Yusuke's eyes reflected the surprise he felt but he followed her, glancing behind him to see the guilt flash across their faces, and Kikyou and Botan leaning toward each other to whisper. They really had been eavesdropping.

He tensed when they stopped, expecting the worse. Now that she had time to think about it, obviously she was going to be reconsidering _them_. That was fine. Good. It wasn't like he was _attached _to her.

"Stop that," she said, irritated at the guarded look on his face. "I just wanted to talk about your shift. And why we aren't on the same one."

When he continued to stare at her with that scowl on his face and the guarded eyes and nervous shifting that she could catch every once in awhile, she leaned back against the wall. She almost winced; expecting pain from her shoulder before she remembered that the bruise she felt wasn't hers, but Tairi's. Kagome's gaze darted around the room before she rested it on Yusuke's face. She struggled a few moments to find words. "I didn't make the shifts just to watch for enemies in the control room. I made it for the training. We've fought together in the battles on Europa and we know how we fight. We are also the two leaders. We can't be on the same shift. I know how to fight with my team pretty well. You know how to fight with yours. But I don't know much of your teams weaknesses, and you don't know mines."

"I know this already," Yusuke said, clearly irritated.

"Then stop sulking! We don't have time now to just be with each other. I wish we did, but we don't. It's only a few days, anyway!" Kagome 's voice was raised a bit, and by the containers, both Kurama and Inuyasha stopped passing on the conversation as it reached a level audible for the rest of them.

"Yeah? And who's to say we'll be able to do anything after we get off the ship anyway? Or that you'll want to?" He lowered his voice before growling out his next accusation. "You didn't seem to want to spend too much time together after _Miroku _came anyway."

Kagome's mouth dropped open and she had the inappropriate urge to laugh. Knowing she'd never salvage this if she did that now, she looked up at him, forcing herself to look calm, and accused, "You're jealous!"

"Yeah? So what? It looks like I have the right to be," he grumbled angrily.

"The right to be? Yes, you do," she held up a hand to forestall the angry storm that was coming, "but no reason to be. He's my friend and that's all he is. That's all he ever will be. I feel for him only as much as I feel for Souta, or Kaede, or Kikyou."

She smiled before he could answer and reached a hand up to cup his cheek. "I like _you_, and definitely not in a brotherly way."

She could still see the doubt in his eyes, and she knew she couldn't do anything more than she had, so she stepped forward, lifting onto her toes - and promptly fell onto the ice as he feet slipped out from underneath her.

Yusuke couldn't help but grin at the offended look of hurt on her face, as if the ice had purposely decided to take her down at that moment. There were muffled snickers across the room, and even Tairi was mentally giggling, despite the fact that she was probably feeling the pain that Kagome felt.

"It's not funny," Kagome whined, beginning to pout. By the gentle twinkle in her blue-gray eyes, she did indeed find it funny. She looked up at him slyly as he began to chuckle. "Help me up?"

Automatically he reached down. It was too late to jerk back when the triumph bloomed on her face. She reached up and tugged hard on his short, twisting out of the way as he fell to the iced floor.

Yusuke caught himself briefly with his hands before they slipped out and he managed enough control to land on his side instead of his face. He glared at the miko girl who was squirming toward the wall. It melted into a mischievous smile as he firmly put any thoughts of the previous conversation out of his mind and did his best to lunge across the icy surface after her.

Kikyou and Botan stared at the two, gaping unashamedly. "They have such mood swings," Botan whispered.

"It's Kagome. Only she could make someone go through that many emotions in so many minutes... Can we get back to training? I have a feeling they're about to make me ill in a few moments." Kikyou grimaced as Yusuke managed to catch her laughing sister and pulled her toward him.

Inuyasha smirked behind their backs. After all that talk of responsibility, she was going to go off and make them lose sleep and the others lose training time? _'Zasar?'_

'No. Do it yourself. They're happy. Elako and Tairi are happy. My friends_ being happy makes me happy.'_ Inuyasha's jaw dropped open as the phoenix denied him outright.

_'You were just attacking her!'_

'So? Angry at her. She's still my friend. Kagome would be your friend... if you weren't a dumb featherless clawed thing.' Zasar swooped down to land on one of the container, followed by Kikyou's phoenix, Alenia.

"Do they have to do that?" Miroku questioned, looking away from Kagome leaning toward Yusuke, the look in her eyes showing her obvious intent.

"Shouldn't you be training, Yusuke?" Kurama asked loudly. "And all three of us should be sleeping, shouldn't we Kagome?"

The other four by the containers turned to stare at Kurama as Kagome and Yusuke reluctantly backed away from each other. The two groups began to split up with a few murmured phrases and Yusuke, still feeling a bit put out with Miroku, 'asked' him to clean up ice as it melted into water.

As Kagome and the hanyou and kitsune behind her entered their room, Kurama cleared his throat again. "I apologize for being so rude. I was simply annoyed by everyone else complaining about you two."

Kagome's eyes flickered briefly to Inuyasha before she glanced over at Shippo curled in her bunk and shook her head. "It's all right. Let them complain. You should have reminded us. We need our sleep and they need their training."

As they climbed into their beds, they thought the conversation was over, but both of her roommates heard the murmur from the other bed as they drifted off. "Every moment counts. That what they told me."

/./

Yusuke and his shift was on duty a couple of days after the ice incident when the message came. By the short, terse sound to the message they were afraid of being overheard. It made sense. It wasn't safe out here, which was why the Comets usually flew about transporting the sensitive messages and the most valuable goods for the war.

It said simply that in a few hours they would meet up with the ship sending the message and be getting three more passengers to take to Mars. They would be nearing the asteroid belt when they met up, and everyone was a bit nervous. Miroku frowned at the message. "They must be desperate to get them here if they want to dock there. It would be very easy for a fleet to be hiding in there."

Botan bit her lip as Yusuke ignored the other boy and Kikyou simply cast her eyes shortly to him. They had to be the tensest shift on the ship. "So, when are they boarding?"

"Twenty-two hundred. Hiei's watch," was Yusuke's terse reply.

"We should probably wake up Kagome's shift when it's time," Miroku suggested.

"Is it important enough to have everyone up at once?" Kikyou asked, glancing out the window into the empty system, stars winking in the far off distance.

"They'll have had six hours of sleep at that point," Botan ventured to say glancing at Yusuke who was saying absolutely nothing at all. She stopped the sigh of frustration that threatened to burst out. At least everyone else seemed to be doing well enough, even if Kagome and Inuyasha were, from what Ketria was passing on, still having problems behaving in their training sessions.

"I'm sure all of them have survived on much less for longer amounts of time." Miroku smiled and three sets of eyes settled on Yusuke's back patiently. None of them were going to even try to say they had the authority to wake one of the other shifts.

"Fine. Wake them up forty-five minutes before the ship comes." Really, that was only a bit more than five hours, but they all knew Miroku's statement still applied. Botan blinked slightly and promised to warn Kagome as they changed shifts. She could catch the girl as the miko went to bed.

Yusuke ignored the few attempts at conversation behind him as he passed them the authorization to wake the others when the time came. He didn't work well with others. His team was an exception. This was not his team. Botan was kindhearted and too cheery sometimes and other times she would stop and this bleak look would pass over her features. He still had little idea what had really gone on with Botan and Hiei, but the girl seemed to be constantly struggling with herself.

Kikyou was soft-spoken about everything. She carried an air of pride about her and closed up to everyone not on her team. Even then he didn't think she ever showed every bit of herself. The young woman barely ever smiled.

Miroku he had disliked instantly for his close relationship with Kagome. He _was _jealous. Miroku was too lecherous and he hid all of his secrets behind a smiling face and innuendoes. Yusuke knew nothing about him except that he had monk training along with the powers and that he had known Kagome since childhood.

He didn't know anything about them, and they didn't know anything about him, but they knew plenty about each other. He didn't care why Kagome had put them on the same shift, but he thought it was a very bad idea. That and being stuck on a ship where you were expecting to be attacked at any moment kept his temper even shorter than usual.

He just hoped that these new passengers didn't make everything worse.

/./

When the ship appeared, it surprised them all. It wasn't a normal passenger ship or even a normal Comet ship. It was one of the special new types of ships that were supposed to be undetected by almost any kind of technology. The demons manning any ships after them would have to switch to manual to target any of these types. Yusuke practically gaped as he saw the markings on the side. "That's from the 8th fleet."

"The so-called Sun Dragons?" Kagome asked as she took the space beside him. Everyone was crowded into the control room, Kurama and Inuyasha looking disgruntled by Kagome's fresh look and especially by the fact her hair looked to have been washed and dried recently.

"There's a story behind that name, and why they took it," Botan chirped up. She was gaping just as much as Yusuke and there was a delighted look on her face. Sango grinned at her, recognizing the signs of a full-blown history lecture. It was much like the old her.

Kagome had turned her head to listen but all of them were disappointed as the communication's opened, on-screen this time and in one corner of the room a screen lit up to life with the oddly colorful interior of the ship they were meeting and a woman standing on the bridge with a lazy stance.

"Hey boys. Long time no see," The woman drawled out, apparently amused as even Hiei's eyes widened in surprise. "Surprised to see me?"

Kurama recovered first and managed a polite smile. "Shizuru Kuwabara, it has been a long time. I suppose this is the special training you told your brother you were entering?"

"No shit, red. We've got some people who are very eager to get off this ship. Probably has to do with everyone trying to remake their uniforms into something more fashionable. My crew is crazy." She was grinning as she said it and everyone had the uneasy feeling that she fully supported her crew's "craziness".

"We're matching velocities now," Keiko said, her hands on one set of buttons. Miroku was at another and Kagome and Hiei were both looking fascinated as they peered at what commands they were setting in. Yusuke wanted to be curious but he was sure the second he did someone would mention the last time he had touched the controls of a ship. He had only blown up one ship, but no one ever let him forget it.

"So are we. Ya might want to hurry, I'm pretty sure there's a nice little battle group heading our way." Shizuru smirked as their hands suddenly began working much faster and the rest of the group was suddenly scrambling for weapons group or the docking section. "Well look at that. At least they have good reaction times."

"Too bad they're taking the cute ones away. I had so much fun with them!" The voice was off screen and there was a high-pitched giggle to it that made it sound like the female behind it was definitely too young to be on a ship.

"Ah, shut up. You had fun because they're the only ones near your age that you've been able to see for at least a year. It's what you get for being a genius at ship maneuvers, Koharu." The banter between them seemed oddly relaxed and Kagome briefly wondered if the whole ship was like that before she left to go start loading weapons for the others to shoot. Yusuke followed her, knowing he probably shouldn't be trying to shoot a weapon and seeing how easily Botan and Hiei settled down near the weapon stations.

The two arrived to find that the Setrans were already attempting to move the boxes of ammo through the door that they had, against all odd, managed to get open. Kikyou's phoenix was looking pleased with herself, which was the only clue as to how this had come to be. Kagome and Yusuke left them to that and started opening the boxes already in there and loading them into a long, thin tunnel that automatically loaded each one they put in.

Both of them ignored the alarms when they began and continued steadily putting loading ammo. It was automatic enough that both could tune in to Elako and Tairi who had scrambled to the docking area and control area. Tairi was delighted as they finally managed to get their three passengers in. _'This girl is the one for the other egg! They sent us the last one!'_

Elako expressed his own relief, more than either of the humans had thought the situation warranted, but then they were distracted by Elako's commentary as he entered the control room. _'There are ships nearby, and energy coming towards us. There are also non-energy weapons.'_

Yusuke and Kagome glanced at each other. 'Torpedoes?' Yusuke mouthed.

'Maybe,' Kagome mouthed back. The alarms were too loud for them to even attempt to yell over them.

_'The other ship has broken off from us... We're beginning to shoot back and maneuver, but they say for us to just keep heading for Mars. They can take of this. Wow! You should see what this ship is doing! It's fast! And the firepower!' _In his excitement, Elako managed to give them a few images of what he could see. Shizuru's ship was speeding into the pack of ships and would get close enough that it seemed inevitable that the ships would crash into each other. It seemed impossible that her ship was not only whole, but also unscathed after numerous close calls where her ship was directly next to the enemy.

_'We're getting away... I can't see them anymore, and nothing seems to be following us. I think they killed most of them before they left. I didn't know ships went that fast.'_ Elako sounded awed and Yusuke smothered a grin.

_'They're new. Most ships don't. It's an edge right now, and the crew is all specially trained and most of them are geniuses of some sort. Tactics, Strategy, combat, languages, the Sun Dragons are the best of the best at space fighting and the first group to get those ships.'_ Yusuke knew there was more to it than that. There were rumors that most of the humans were descended from genetically engineered ancestors, when their civilization had still known how to do that.

_'You should come meet our new team members. I think you'll be surprised by what you see,' _Tairi said, her voice amused.

/./

Everyone had eventually gathered in the training room. Even Keiko and Miroku had dared to put the sip on autopilot for a few moments to come meet the newest passengers.

Upon seeing who the three young teenagers were, Kikyou and Kagome whisked off to one corner of the training room with their siblings and Inuyasha dragged a fascinated Rin after them, where the three of them proceeded to interrogate the youngsters.

Somehow, they found the discussion turned around and the three innocent faces were now picking up the most minute details of the last few months from _them._ Shippo was snickering as he relayed everything he could hear to a grinning Yusuke. The kitsune had known to stay out of the way when the alarms rang but now he was as fascinated by the newcomers as everyone else. Only Miroku seemed to have any idea who any of them were besides the three young adults wondering when the tables had turned - and when the youngsters had become so clever.

"Uncle Inuyasha! Your brother says you're to take care of me while I'm here and that I'm your responsibility. He has letters for you! And some Kikyou woman." Rin's brown eyes were staring up into Inuyasha's stupefied golden eyes angelically. She had all the details she had wanted; the other two could get the rest on their own time. It was time to give Inuyasha the real news.

Kikyou's head jerked up, as did Kagome's. Both of them were staring at the guileless girl, who looked unaware of what she had just said. Somewhere behind them, Yusuke began to chuckle.

/./

"Why those two as well? I would have thought you would want to hang on to them as long as possible." It was fortunate that Sesshoumaru was not there this time. It was only Genkai who was there to pose the curious questions.

"They were in danger as much as Rin was. Kagome needs as much of her family there as possible as well. They don't have eggs, but it will do them good to get to know the others." There was dull note in his voice.

Genkai looked at him sharply and set her voice to cut through to him. "Stop wallowing in self-pity, Tenashu. So, the girl thinks you gave it to her just so she could eventually die. Maybe you should have gone and explained sometime in the last decade. At the very least she would hate you a little less for trying."

"But what would be the point? The Prophecy is clear. 'The Shikon's chosen must give up life'. Even if I didn't mean it that way, I have essentially sentenced my own daughter to death." His bright blue eyes dulled as he spoke. Genkai observed him for a few more moments.

"We don't really have time for this," She said, keeping her voice level. "We need you watching and reporting on their progress."

"Which I have been doing. I don't believe I need your authorization to send more pieces of your precious destined force to the central eight. I am doing everything I am supposed to. I have been doing the everything that they told me to do since I left my four small children with only their mother to raise them." He turned away from the small woman, a clear way to dismiss her and anything she could possibly say.

He heard the door shut. She didn't slam it, and only glanced back at him tiredly. After she left he closed his eyes and sat down in a chair, willing his mind to see those few seconds ahead of his children. Long in to the night he kept in his trance, yearning to reach out and touch them.

He doubted they would even know him now.

/.../

I have to apologize to all of you for an unnecessary delay for this update. This was nearly finished when I was given ownership of one of the play-by-post Dragonriders of Pern RPGs I belong to, and I became a bit distracted with updating and attempting to father members. Otherwise this would have been out at least a week ago. It's not late updating I'm apologizing for, but the unnecessary delay of this part.

Reviewer Responses: I was just going to e-mail everyone who had questions or long comments, but not many of you did, so I won't start that practice quite yet.

Thank you to Kagome-reincarnation, animegurl5, Shadow Kage, chinadoll27, FoxylilRaven, Sukera, and Arcia for reviewing. Please do so again!

Winged Knight: I am always plotting. The four souls do have a good idea - even if it is for at least partly selfish reasons. The training will at least make them understand the physical weaknesses each of them has, even if they won't like it.

Andre: I can try and make Sango appear more, but my focus usually is more on Kagome and Yusuke. I can guarantee there will be chapters with more focus on her in the near future, however.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

/.../

Chapter 14 - "They'll always be afraid of us."

There had been discussions about what to do with the three. The boys especially had argued against them training with the rest. In their opinion, it would be better for them to keep the Setrans company. The girls disagreed, but they were more familiar with the peculiarities of these three children. Not that they really were. The two youngest were Souta and Rin, and they were thirteen. The boys seemed to have forgotten they had been sent out to the smaller battles when they were that age as part of their training.

Rin had headed straight toward the last egg when the three had been shown the Setrans. She had collapsed afterwards, but the panicking older teens were told to calm down as their bonded explained that the other egg was simply taking as much energy as it could to catch up to Shippo's egg.

Kagome had stalked about in a huff for days as the boys refused to budge. Souta had grinned at her and come up with the solution. "We'll just choose a shift anyway. Someone will be willing to train with us. Miroku can probably help me with my powers even more than you or Kikyou could, so I'll go there, Kaede will trail Sango, and Rin can join you your shift. She can't channel her reiki well into weapons, just barriers, kinda like Sango can't channel it into a weapon shape, but Rin's good at healing with it when she can, and good enough without it to keep people alive. She's not as good of a fighter as the rest of us, but she's great with her daggers, and you can help her a bit, can't you?"

She couldn't very well say no to the last part, and the rest of it was very sensible. Within days they had settled into a routine, where the three children very innocently followed their shift around and helped out, and the boys grudgingly admitted - in their own minds, at least - that the kids weren't bad fighters after all. Yusuke took the advantage of Souta trailing his shift to extract all the information he could about Kagome.

In return, Souta had subtly tested the older boy's personality. He was impulsive, but not quite as impulsive as Inuyasha, and he did improvise in battle instead of always trying the same strategy, but more than that, beneath it all, Souta was pleased to discover that when he did actually bring someone into the very small group of those he cared about, he would be loyal to them.

Kaede had been observing Keiko and Hiei in the same way, if to a lesser degree, and Rin had shrewdly wiggled her way into Inuyasha, and surprisingly, Kurama's, heart. Her strategy for assessing them was much better than the two Higurashi's. She was simply herself, and they were much more relaxed around the carefree girl than they were of the children raised to be fighters.

Kagome wasn't totally unaware of what the younger children were doing, but it saddened her a bit. Not that she hadn't ever done similar things, but she had never been that good at it. Perhaps it had to do with that their training had begun even earlier than hers. Beneath all of their exteriors were fighters, and Souta and Kaede had been fighters practically since they were old enough to follow directions.

When Mars came into view, it was a welcome sight to her, despite the threats of violence it held, and Kagome was one of the first to get off in the city of Karjini, one of the few cities that was still safe from Naraku's demons on the planet.

/./

"It looks dusty," Rin observed. She and Kagome were on top of a building that was next to the shields and they were staring out at the red planet. They had been there two days and it was late afternoon and the sun was setting on the third day.

"It does," Kagome agreed. "Even with terraforming there are dust storms sometimes. Or maybe because of the terraforming. Meddling with it probably changed it a lot. They say it once really did look totally red, not a bit of green or blue anywhere."

The two girls stared off into the distance. To all sides were long fields of tall grass. in the distance they could make out the far off farms, automated by robots. They couldn't spare enough people for farms, but the original programming for farming and ranching robots were still about, and so even with so much lost, the humans and their demon allies managed to construct enough of them.

"When do we leave?" Rin asked finally.

"Tomorrow at dawn. The officials in the city want us out of here as quickly as possible." Kagome didn't try to coat it for the girl, but she was watching Rin from the corner of her eye.

"They're afraid of us."

"Yes," Kagome answered, despite the fact it hadn't been a question.

"Oh," Rin said. Then she began to cry, and Kagome took the younger teen in the circle of her arms.

"It'll be all right. We're a target, that's all. It'll stop when Naraku and Resurga are gone." Despite her words, Kagome had felt like crying a time or two herself. This had been the first time they had been in a populated area together. Everyone knew. They knew that they were targets, and they knew that they were part of a prophecy. They weren't just scared to have them in the city, they were scared of them. It hurt to know that the civilization they were trying to save was scared silly of the power they held.

"Will it, Kagome? The Setrans make them afraid too. All they know are distant legends, and most of those aren't good." Rin paused, then sniffed and said, "They'll always be afraid of us."

Kagome had nothing to say to that, so she pulled the girl closer and let Rin cry herself out on her shoulder. She felt angry that they had made her cry, but she twisted it away and aimed it toward Naraku instead. He was the immediate threat, and she had no hostility to waste of civilians who were too scared and too used to the way things were to welcome something that would make their civilization whole again.

Their stomachs were crying out for food and the sun had long set by the time they climbed to their feet and walked over to a tall post standing up from the roof. Kagome reached out and pressed a blue button and the roof nearby shifted, revealing a hole and an elevator rising up out of it, apparently standing on nothing but air. That too, was something from when the planet had been originally settled, before everything had gone wrong and Resurga had risen.

The elevator brought them down to what a melodic female voice said was level three. Where their rooms were. In fact, the whole floor was theirs. No one else would have wanted to be on it once they found out they were there, anyway.

Knowing that they would be scolded for being out so late, they headed immediately for what they had chosen for their meeting room, a large room that actually had a table and chairs. Rin entered first and immediately winced as Souta, Kaede, Inuyasha, and Kikyou began to show their disapproval. Kurama simply gave her a disappointed look. Shippo was the only one looking sympathetic. He was holding a peculiar piece of wood that seemed to slowly be molding in his hands.

Kagome took a deep breath before plunging in. "We weren't far. Just on the roof."

Immediately that turned the attention towards her. She only caught a few snatches of everything after that.

"Stubborn, prideful - "

"Endangering poor Rin-"

"So _irresponsible_-"

"What were you _thinking_?"

"Can't believe _you _would be such a brainless-"

"What the _hell_ did you think you were doing?" Everyone shut up as Yusuke finally spoke up. He said it loudly, but not loud enough to be heard in the other floors which they knew could happen.

"We were perfectly fine. It wouldn't have been hard to find us if you had needed us," Kagome pointed out.

"Oh no, we only would have had to check every fucking floor! Inuyasha could only track you two as far as the elevator, and none of the floors we checked had you!" Yusuke snapped back.

"You should have checked the roof," Kagome returned steadily. She wasn't backing off on this. She knew they had been worried, but this had been necessary for her and Rin. The girl had been near to breaking down more than once and it was better that Kagome was the one to catch her when she fell, than for one of the others to attempt it if it had happened at another time. She was used to piecing the emotional state of others back together with a little comfort and a soothing presence.

"If you'd told us-" Yusuke began heatedly.

"Then you would have followed us. This was something we had to do without the rest of you around. We're not hurt, none of us in here are hurt, and everyone's fine. It was something that we needed to do. Drop it," Kagome said flatly. That was an obvious mistake.

"Drop it?" Yusuke asked in a low, angry voice. "We looked for you for _hours_. I'll be damned if I'll 'Drop it'. Maybe you don't give a shit about the rest of us, but we-"

"Yusuke, if you somehow god it in your pigheaded, egotistical head that I somehow did this to spite you all, you might as well give up now. I did this because I do 'give a shit' and if you had bothered asking, I could have told you where I was. If you had bothered thinking, you could have asked Tairi if I was safe. Instead you sat here and... what? Waited for us to come back so you could make a scene. Get a brain!" Kagome had grabbed both Shippo and Rin as they all went into momentary shock at the harshness in Kagome's voice, but Yusuke didn't let himself be shocked enough to let her get away. The doors slammed closed and Yusuke was leaning against them with less than a foot between him and Kagome.

"Me, get a brain? I already have one, unlike an empty headed female who can't be bothered to stop us from worrying. I did ask Tairi where you were. She wouldn't answer me, probably by your command." Yusuke glared at her from that short distance.

Kagome's eyes flashed and she let go of Shippo and Rin and reached forward to push him out of the way. "I didn't tell her to do anything."

Yusuke snorted and gripped her wrist before it could reach him. "Then why didn't she tell me?"

Frustrated, Kagome practically hurled her thought out to Tairi. _'Tairi? Why didn't you tell Yusuke?'_

'Because it wasn't any of his business. You had something to do that would make things better in the long run, and it is important for the growing ones that their bonded stay stable. He would have interrupted and the baby could have been emotionally malformed if she had broken down at the wrong time or kept letting it fester.' By Yusuke face, it was apparent Tairi's sharp voice was aimed for him as well.

"You could have said that you were helping her when you came in," he grumbled just loud enough for her ears.

"And you would have used it as one of the things you threw at me and announced it to the whole room. They would have worried and undone everything. She would have told you if I was in danger. I wasn't, and I can take care of myself. Please, I think we should all get some rest now." She did sound tired, but Yusuke hesitated, trying to get her to meet his eye as he furiously ran over the fight the argument they'd just had and wincing at some of the comments he had made.

"Kagome," he said, attempting to get her to lift her head.

"Please, Yusuke." She stared past him and he reluctantly moved out of the way. She left, this time simply taking Shippo with her. They all had a feeling she was going to be locking her door from the rest of them tonight.

"I wonder if there will be one of us who _hasn't _said something stupid to Kagome by the time this is all over. Hell, I'm permanently on her bad side." Inuyasha grinned, flashing fangs at his team leader. Yusuke ignored him, slapping his palm against the wall and leaning into it, telling himself that now was not the time to punch through the wall.

"Shippo won't get on her bad side. He didn't try to jump down her throat." Rin's look, rather than disapproving, was disappointed. Her eyes were downcast and Yusuke found himself wanting to look for a kicked puppy that had to be somewhere around. "She was only trying to help."

"She still should have told someone," Kikyou said softly to the girl.

"Why? She's an adult." Under Rin's steady, uncomprehending gaze, Kikyou backed off, unable to explain it. They just had to stay together. It was too dangerous for them to be out alone.

"What if Naraku had attacked?" Kurama pointed out.

"Then we could have held them off while Tairi got the rest of you. At worst we would have had to be put under a barrier." Rin shifted her weight as she saw the shaking heads. She didn't understand this. They couldn't be together all the time. Even after Naraku and Resurga were destroyed there would still be demons wanting to kill any one of them. Surely they didn't think they all be together in a big group for the rest of their lives.

"Kagome's not very good at barriers," Inuyasha mentioned with a snort.

"I am," Rin stated. Everyone started slightly and took a good look at the girl. "I'm not very good at offense, but my energy feels most natural when I put it to use defensively."

"She has a point there. We never could get her energy to form into a weapon, but her barrier's are excellent." Souta finally piped up, feeling torn between both arguments but ultimately wanting them to get off the subject altogether.

"I weave them," Rin explained. There were more strange looks and Kaede stepped up to her side after an unseen nudge from Souta.

"It's how she thinks of how it's formed. Like a tight weaving... except the shield can 'root' into the ground. She really is very good. And she can do a bit of healing, if it's another human." The children seemed suddenly to be pushing forward Rin's credentials, as if the strange stares they had been giving Rin had been a challenge of some sort.

"Relax, brats. We believe you." Inuyasha grinned at them and they all smiled back at them. When they turned to talk in a corner, Inuyasha turned away and Inuyasha didn't see Souta and Kaede exchange relieved smiles.

/./

_'Don't worry about it so much. Yusuke was just worried about you.'_ Tairi had her legs folded beneath her and was looking wise as her head tilted to look at Kagome with one blue eyes. The room was plenty large enough for it's three occupants and the guest who refused to move, but Kagome still felt cramped. Only her willpower kept her from jumping up and pacing.

_'He really was you know. I would know, after all,'_ Elako said smugly. He wasn't supposed to be in there, but when Kagome had suggested he leave, he had looked at her out of shining blue eyes and said nothing.

"I don't care how worried he was. I can take care of myself, and Rin. I was taking care of myself long before most of them came around. I had to fight Kikyou's big sister attitude my whole life, I don't need another protector. Even Miroku understands that." Kagome knew that wasn't fair. Miroku only understood because he couldn't be there to protect her and had seen her handle herself adequately when none of the others had. Outside of training, none of them had realized that she did have to fight sometimes, and without them.

_'Probably another reason Yusuke's jealous. You really should watch how close you get to him when you speak. It's fascinating how you two can be so close and not feel a thing but friendship. Unfortunately, Keiko and Yusuke don't find it fascinating.' _Tairi shifted as Shippo yawned and moved from Kagome's side onto the floor and snuggled up to Tairi, still clutching that strange piece of wood from before.

"I fixed that already. And it has nothing to do with right now. We aren't changing the subject. He's seen me in a fight. Okay, I've done some stupid moves, like with Goshinki, but it was necessary at the time." Kagome turned from her back onto her side, facing away from the two Setrans.

The next second she turned back and looked at Tairi through narrow eyes. "Have you gotten larger again?"

_'A bit perhaps. I had some energy stored up for a fight, but none has been forthcoming. I won't grow much larger, but my muscles will still have to fill out.' _She was looking sleek, and she and Elako were now a similar color of dark blue. Unfortunately, each had darkened as they grew, and for some reason, Elako had not been growing with Tairi at the last growth spurt. He was at least a hand shorter than Tairi and his wings looked awkward and oversized.

Elako glanced away as Tairi proudly displayed her fangs and tried to show off as best she could without disturbing the kitsune. Before they had been ahead of the others, and Tairi still was, if only slightly ahead. But he was now slightly behind and he could figure it out.

Kagome didn't notice the male Setrans silence and continued obliviously. "And it hasn't even been that long since you hatched. Are you supposed to grow this fast?"

_'We're mystical creatures. We grow as fast as we can consume energy. When we get out of the city, I and the others will be able to practice and see if any of the others have discovered their powers.'_

"If they haven't?" Kagome questioned, looking at Tairi curiously.

_'Then I and Zasar and the dragons will spar. Now that we near full growth, we do need to build up actual muscles, and we need to know how far our powers will extend without enemies to draw off of.'_ Tairi yawned and showed sharp fangs before tucking her head beneath one foreleg. _'Enough. We have a full day ahead of us. Get some sleep.'_

Kagome was surprised by the quick dismissal but she did stop talking to her bonded and turned her attention to Elako. "You sure you don't want to go out and back to Yusuke's room?"

_'Oh yes, I'm very sure.' _It was a testament of how tired she was from the long day and the emotional turmoil that she was still engaged in that she didn't even notice the sudden amusement in Elako's mind voice.

Elako shifted his gaze away from Tairi to Kagome and waited until she looked too lost in thought to notice his blank gaze. He sent out a gentle, teasing thought and gently touched his bonded's mind. _'So, how much longer did you want to beat yourself up?'_

'Where the hell are you?' There was a few heartbeats of silence before Yusuke grumbled, _'And I'm not beating myself up. She should have told us where she was going.'_

'I don't suppose you considered the fact that you could both be equally right? She doesn't like it that you think her weak.' Elako tossed his head smugly and felt like neighing triumphantly at the sudden shock he felt from Yusuke. Stupid, silly boy.

_'I don't! I couldn't ever think she was weak!' _Yusuke's vehement reaction was exactly what Elako had been waiting for.

_'She thinks you do.'_

'How do you know?' The alicorn let himself fall silent for almost half a minute, trying to convey hesitance he didn't feel. It was so fun baiting them sometimes.

_'Well... You weren't in your room, so I went to hers. I'm there now, and she's been pouring her heart out to me, Tairi, and little Shippo.' _ He waited another beat, feeling Yusuke organizing his thoughts to say something sharp. He cut him off quickly with a smug, _'And I remember the code she was given for this room.'_

There was a longer silence that Elako was happy to wait out. Yusuke's emotions were wide open to Elako's peering gaze, just as his would be to Yusuke's if the boy had ever bothered to try and feel what he was feeling consciously. The Setran could feel Yusuke's struggle, pride warring against the curiosity and the need to see Kagome. Finally, with Elako waiting smugly in the back of his mind, Yusuke sent, _'Whoever said your kind was dangerous doesn't know the half of it. Is she awake?'_

'Yes. Just thinking. You won't get a better chance to talk to her alone. Tomorrow none of you will be able to get anytime alone with each other.' Elako didn't feel that Yusuke was paying attention at this point and didn't bother hiding his annoyance. He was trying to help out, and Yusuke just went off and ignored him.

_'What's the code?' _Yusuke asked suddenly.

_'Why?'_

'I'm outside the door.'

'Oh.' Elako was glad he wasn't humanoid. A blush on blue skin would look horrifying. He listed off the numbers, grinning as the first beeps sounded and Kagome sat up warily. The Setran could feel the power building beneath her skin. Tairi lifted her head suddenly and he knew she could feel the hum of power shimmering in the air just like he could.

The door slid open and Elako pretended not to notice Tairi's angry blue gaze snapping toward him. The self-congratulation in his mind only lasted until the suddenly vicious thought broke into his mind.

_'I'll get you back for this in training later. This is not what Kagome needs.' _Tairi held herself rigidly, only the kitsune sleeping against her side keeping her from threatening an explanation out of the male.

_'This is exactly what they need. What they both need. Don't let Kagome's emotions color your perceptions.' _Elako winced as Tairi's mind presence went still before it blazed angrily. He could feel the hurricane of power in the room, coming from both females with equal anger.

He wondered why he was able to remove himself from the grip of Yusuke's emotions when Tairi couldn't. Perhaps it was that sense of something hidden in his bonded. Something that waited patiently. Once Elako had sensed that, only after the younger humans had arrived, he had been able to remove himself from Yusuke's influence. Not always, and never enough to keep it from affecting him, but enough that he had a clear head. Clearer than Tairi's.

_'Her perceptions are mine and mine are hers. It's not my fault you and yours are too stunted to have a _proper _bond.' _Tairi bared wicked fangs at him. He leapt onto suddenly shining hooves.

_'Look at all that stored energy that you can't possibly use.' _Tairi's taunt hit home. Elako was shocked that she had noticed. Furiously, he pawed at the floor and would have charger his fellow Setran if not for Yusuke fisting his hand in the long blue mane trailing from his neck.

"I think, that that is enough of that. I came here to talk to Kagome, not to see you two fight about... whatever you two are fighting about." Yusuke looked at the two bonded suspiciously and slowly released his grip on Elako, narrowing his eyes as he noticed Tairi had not moved from her spot and her blue eyes looked vaguely mocking.

Elako couldn't stand it, and he couldn't explain to his bonded that he was... _different. _He was malformed, stunted, and not good enough. The Setran wheeled about and charged out of the room, his hooves clicking on the smooth surface beneath him.

"What the hell was that about?" Yusuke questioned the remaining occupants.

"I don't know." Kagome seemed to have forgotten she was mad at Yusuke as she glanced over at Tairi. "What about you?"

_'I think tonight would be a glorious night for a walk, don't you?'_ Tairi nuzzled Shippo awake before getting up, trotting calmly past Yusuke and stopping just outside the door. She wheeled halfway around to stare up at Yusuke and said to the both of them, _'He's keeping secrets you know. He can't keep it all inside anymore than the rest of us. Look what damage it does.'_

Both humans stared after her as she trotted off in the opposite direction of Elako. Shippo yawned and would have gone back to sleep if he had not noticed Yusuke standing there. Abruptly his plans changed and he gripped his oddly shaped piece of wood as he sidled out of the room. He cleared his throat and said, "I think I'll go and... get some food... or something. Bye!"

The kitsune disappeared, his golden tail the last thing the saw as he darted down one hallway. "Very subtle of them," Kagome muttered.

Her words jolted Yusuke back to the present - and the reason for him being there. He took another step into the room and felt the door automatically close behind him. Kagome stared up at him warily. He stared back, suddenly at a loss for words.

Finally, he managed an awkward, "We need to talk."

Kagome stared up at him for a second. Then another passed, and another. Just as he was getting annoyed with the silence, she began to laugh softly. It was his turn to eye her warily. It definitely wasn't something funny, and he saw no reason why this was a laughing matter.

"You are a master of stating the obvious. Should we talk about your total lack of tact, your trust issues, or should we just get to the screaming?" Kagome's lips were in an odd bitter twist as she spoke. Yusuke couldn't remember seeing any similar expression except that day when Kikyou had said those fateful words. 

"I may have overreacted," he said. He refused to give into temptation and rise to the tasty bait she was tangling in front of him. One hurtful argument was enough for him.

"What was your first clue?" She was still glaring at him with that twisted smile and Yusuke had to force himself to meet her eyes.

"I do trust you. I was just..." Yusuke struggled under the taunting feelings that were saying nothing was going to make this better. The words just weren't there, and she would laugh at anything he said.

"Oh, fuck this. I was worried, okay? It doesn't matter how damn strong you are, I will worry. I still think you were damn irresponsible but I'm-" He smiled bitterly, hating the taste of the word that meant he was wrong. "-sorry. For screaming at you."

"You never go about things normally, do you? We're supposed to work around to apologies. Sometimes it takes days. Weeks, depending on how bad it was." Kagome was looking faintly exasperated, but the slight smile on her lips was honest and her eyes had lost that dull look.

"Why the hell would anyone go through days of this? Fuck, when Keiko was angry with me she'd probably just scream at me and maybe hit me, and then everything would be fine again. What the hell would weeks of silence and all that fake smiles and bullshit solve?" Yusuke honestly look flummoxed by the whole concept. Kagome realized suddenly why Miroku seemed the only one she could be comfortable around. He was the most emotionally stable of the lot. Considering all of the anger he hid, that was saying a lot.

Looking up at Yusuke, she wondered what that said about her, that of all of them she would have to choose him. Realizing that he waiting for something more, she shook herself. "I don't know if I can really forget everything you said. You meant all of it Yusuke, and don't say you didn't. But, I can try to forgive it."

There wasn't an immediate change, but Kagome was watching closely. She smiled at the small bit of tension he let slip away. He grinned hesitantly back at her, and the silence was suddenly thick and awkward. Both of them had sacrificed a bit of their pride to each other, and Kagome knew that was something Yusuke held onto a bit too dearly.

_'You two are so boring. Say something. Do something. Just stop staring at the ceiling and walls. Humans. Your courtship's are so complex.' _By Yusuke's expression, Kagome knew Tairi had been _kind_ enough to send her thoughts on the subject to both of them.

Kagome sighed and motioned Yusuke over. Feeling amused that Tairi was silently trying to push them along, she didn't hesitate before slipping onto her knees and leaning up to kiss him gently on the lips.

They both knew this wouldn't immediately making things better, but the physical touch sealed the commitment. They would work at it. They liked each other too much for arguments to get in the way of it.

Feeling that the mood was getting to serious and oppressive, Yusuke looked around, pretending to notice the empty room for the first time. "Ya know, isn't it funny that no one's here? Perfect opportunity."

Kagome raised an eyebrow and played along, widening her eyes innocently. "Oh? For what?"

"Perfect," Yusuke began, leering at her, "for a meeting of leaders. We should discuss the others."

Kagome almost laughed as he plopped himself at the end of her bed, but his expression had changed and she sighed as she sat back and crossed her legs. "Anything in particular?"

"No. Just... we aren't all getting along." Yusuke shifted away to hide the sudden rush of embarrassment he felt when she looked pointedly at him. It had been a stupid thing to say.

"That's what the shifts were about, you know," She pointed out.

"They didn't help."

"We don't know that yet." Kagome tried to not be angry as he sighed in exasperation and cut him off before he could try to say something. "Look, why don't we do this tomorrow? This might be the perfect opportunity, but we're both tired and we'll be snapping at each other in no time again if we continue. We can do this when we stop tomorrow night."

Yusuke opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut, looking annoyed. There was a whisper of feeling across Kagome's mind and she knew Elako was speaking to him. Finally he nodded sharply. "Fine. We do need sleep."

He was halfway out the door before her mouth decided to move again. "Sweet dreams, Yusuke," she said softly.

He glanced back at her and his brown eyes softened and reluctantly he smiled. "They will be," he promised.

/.../

Reviewers:

Thanks to Serenitygirl13, Sukera, matt zero, GreatestAnimeFreak, and Kagome-reincarnation for reviewing. You guys are all great! Please review again!

Winged Knight: Ah, poor Rin. There will be many discussions about her between Kikyou and Inuyasha, especially when they do get around to discussing the letters. She will be probably the most important of the younger age group, for her force of personality instead of her powers.

animegurl5: I actually don't even remember how I came up with the idea. I think I just wanted to do something futuristic, and probably started writing. The rest just fell into place until the whole plot was set out in front of me.

YAHAHEHEHEHEHE: I'm not really going for new pairings, just the ones I like, so it's okay if they aren't new. I'm glad you're reading my stories despite disliking some of the pairings and characters. Soon I can actually get the plot moving faster.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

Summary of last time: They landed on Mars and there was a fight between Kagome and everyone. Yusuke and Kagome made up later, their two setrans acted oddly.

/.../ -

Chapter 15 -

Two hovercrafts stopped when the city had disappeared over the horizon. Seven people and four animals sat in each car and they shifted to look back at the city no longer in view. Then the hovercrafts were turned off and they lowered to the ground. The fourteen teenagers filed out of their cars and made a circle as they grouped together, drawing strength from the closeness of the other powerful beings that surrounded them.

Souta was the only one to turn away and stare out at the dusty red planet. The grass was sparse where they stood, and it would get thinner and almost non-existent the farther they went. And then they would come to a forest. Souta knew what waited in that forest. He could almost hear the mocking laughter.

He also knew what the prophecy said. He knew at least as much as Kagome did. He desperately hoped this wasn't the end. He knew some of them wanted this to be the end, and that somehow Resurga would just disappear, but he was wishing with all his heart that Resurga continued fighting, that they would still have to fight that demon. Because that would mean Kagome would have top live through the fight. She couldn't die if her work wasn't done, right?

"Hey, Souta, pay attention!" He heard Rin scold. He fixed a smile on his face and turned to face them again, trying to appear as unconcerned as any normal teenage boy.

"Sorry. I guess I drifted off there." His face stretched into a grin and he briefly wondered if rueful rubbing at the back of his head would be too much. He decided it would be and just looked at them through innocent, fearless eyes. They turned away and he could hear them discussing and discarding plan after plan.

"What plan could we think of that he wouldn't be able to counter?" Kikyou said in a level voice. The group paused to look at her and Inuyasha lifted golden eyes to study her.

"What do you think, then?" He tried to keep his voice as casual as he could, but there was a hint of eagerness to his voice, as if he would be pleased by any solution at this point.

"Someone needs to go ahead of us and scout out the area. And we need someone he wouldn't expect." She didn't look directly at them but Souta stiffened anyway and stepped closer to Kaede and Rin. If she picked one of them, it was going to be him. He was not going to let the girls go and get hurt while he stayed here, helpless and afraid.

"We may have an answer to that." Everyone watched in amazement as Botan stepped forward with Shippo. He was holding that same piece of wood he had been holding earlier, but this time the shape was clearer. It looked a bit like an oar to Souta.

"This is made from the wood of a tree that doesn't grow very often in the Human World. They had one that they had been cutting up in the city. In one of the enclosed gardens. We stole one," Botan explained calmly. Souta noted the fire apparition tensing just slightly as he stared at the almost-oar.

"It won't work," Hiei said flatly, shocking them all. There was a rustling sound and Dedran and Ketria poked their heads out of one car, staring at the demon and human in shock. "You're human now."

"Now?" Rin questioned. No one answered her. Souta saw Kagome's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, as were most of the boys. Kikyou and Inuyasha didn't look surprised in the least. The young teen wondered just how much Kikyou was sharing with Inuyasha recently. They had talked a bit too much in the car for two people who should have hated each other.

"My soul isn't," was all she said as she stared at him, surprise on her face. "If it doesn't, I just won't get off the ground. No reason I shouldn't try."

There was apparently nothing Hiei could find wrong with that and he glared at them all, daring them to say something. Souta had already figured out that the demon didn't like being proven wrong. No one did really, but he would perhaps kill if it meant being right.

"What exactly are you talking about? You didn't mention much about the memories Hiei awoke." Souta was horribly confused as Kagome questioned her friend, and only Rin's touch on his arm stopped him from speaking out.

"I know. They keep getting clearer as time goes on. Obviously Hiei has them even clearer than I." Botan glanced at the fire apparition who glared into the space beside her. Her eyes dimmed as she looked away and she continued quickly.

"I was... _wished _into this human body. Or, I should say my spirit was wished into the womb of a human woman who was going to have girl child." Botan grinned quickly at Kurama who looked at her sharply in shock. Souta glanced at Rin, as did Kaede, but the youngest of them shook her head firmly. They could ask the older teens later what that had meant.

"You see, before this, I was... a grim reaper. I guided spirits to Spirit World. We had lost so much power at that point. Resurga had practically wrenched all of our territory in Makai away the instant she came into power. With all of the humans fighting to just keep their own worlds safe, they had no time for Spirit World's trouble, those who even knew of us. All we've been able to do is collect human souls. I was... sick of it. Not angry sick, but sick in the way that I wished I was mortal so I could die. It was horrible, the things I'd see when I went to collect them. Once, I had to collect one from right near Resurga..." Botan trailed off and Souta hissed through his teeth at the haunted look in the usually cheerful girl's eyes.

"We were supposed to disconnect ourselves from it all. Most of us succeeded at first. Then the first of us just... willed themselves out of existence. One of our few males too." She paused to explain, "Most of us are female, while most ogres are male. I guess it's just something that happens when we're made."

She took a few breaths and glanced at the others. Seeing that they were still interested, she forced herself to continue. "He wasn't the last. It wasn't widespread, but it made us all nervous, and depressed. It made some of us close off from everything. And some of us became too open. It was hard to disconnect myself from human death when my own kind was dying out. I blamed it on Resurga. But there was nothing I could do."

"I asked for a physical body. Koenma denied it. He wouldn't risk any of us for what he saw as suicide. So I continued on with my job." Suddenly she smiled and looked up at Kikyou. "And then one day, a little girl drowned and her father - technically stepfather - knelt over her body, doing his best to revive a body whose soul had already left."

Souta stiffened and felt Rin and Kaede do the same. They all knew the story of when Kikyou had been only a couple of years old and Kagome barely conceived. Their father had been out with her. He had said she "almost" drowned. Another lie he had told. The boy glanced over to see an impassive Kagome. He cursed his father for being so thoughtless about his sister.

"He could see me. It was odd. There hadn't been anyone to notice me in decades. The ones sensitive enough to usually didn't want to see me... so they didn't. They just pretended I wasn't floating by. This man looked right at me, and begged for his daughter's life. It was my chance. I took it. I knew who he was. I became a baby girl, less than a month away from being born." She stopped a moment to glance at Kagome.

"So the jewel does grant wishes after all," Kurama murmured, pleased that he had been correct. Sometimes he had wondered.

"It grants its Guardian one major wish. After that it refuses to do anything, even protect the Guardian. Without a Controller, the jewel is pretty useless except as a power amplifier. Only one who isn't Guardian or Controller has been able to get a wish from it," Kagome stated, giving Kurama a brief apologetic half smile when his eyes flashed gold in anger.

"That would be Resurga," Yusuke said, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Yes. I remember that day... when the barriers shattered..." Botan shuddered. "Or a part of me does. It's different, you know, than when humans are reincarnated. I gave him Kikyou's soul in exchange for him wishing me to be born as a human. But it was I, not just my soul. My memories were just blocked. I had wanted them to be."

Despite her steady voice, her hands shook slightly and Hiei shifted his weight slightly, the only sign of unease he felt. He certainly didn't care that it hurt her, only that it had made her unstable. They needed a stable team. If they continued to fight amongst themselves, he would be very annoyed.

"All right," Kagome said evenly. "So this oar thing?"

"We flew around on them," Botan answered promptly. "Technically they were as invisible as us, that was what we did with the tree. We made it into a spirit oar. But if I have a physical oar made from the same wood..."

"Then it should hold up a physical version of you," Sango murmured, the first words she had uttered since they had left the city.

Botan nodded toward her and then looked at the oar in Shippo's hand. "It had to be shaped carefully. I couldn't risk that some whittler would get it wrong. So I had Shippo do it. You know, if he practices, he could do that much faster. In the forest we're going into, the ability to shape wood into different but powerful structures will be useful."

She looked pointedly at Kagome and Yusuke and Souta was startled to realize that they were the ones that had been accepted as Shippo's closest guardians. They even looked at each other as well. It was odd. It was almost like Shippo was their kid, the way they took care of him.

Souta shuddered at that horrible though. He was definitely not ready to be an uncle and Yusuke as a parent was an odd thought. Especially with Kagome. Those were definitely bad thoughts. They just acted parent like because of the responsibility on them. They were together, sure, but it couldn't be that serious. They were only teenagers.

"I wonder if they'll get married," Rin said thoughtfully, but her look was in another direction.

"Yusuke and Kagome? Married? Never." Souta squeaked.

"Oh, not _them_. Anyone can see that of _course _they'll get married. I mean Kikyou and Inuyasha!" Rin smiled gleefully until she noticed Souta's glazed eyes. She tilted her head and looked into his eyes worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Rin, those are my sisters. They aren't _that _much older than me. _Please_ don't say those things to me. I don't think my breakfast can handle it." He did look nauseated, but Rin didn't care. She straightened and her eyes got a slightly mean look.

"Something wrong with being in love, Souta?" Behind them, Kaede groaned. This happened at least once every three months. Rin's dream since she had been a little girl had been marriage and romance. Souta's was definitely not. Romance was the antithesis of the adventurer Souta wanted to be. For two thirteen year olds, they certainly fought about the strangest stuff.

Souta had grown a bit wiser from the last few fights. "Maybe not for most people. Sure, it makes them act a bit off, but I suppose they can't help it. It's not for me though."

Kaede and Rin both stared at him for different reasons. Rin's face grew red and then white, and then finally red again. Then her eyes filled with tears. "I _hate _you!" She screeched, and ran off into one of the cars, slamming the door behind her. In the silence that followed, everyone could hear the sobs from inside. All eyes turned to Souta.

"Kid, you had better have a good explanation for that," Inuyasha growled, taking a threatening step toward him.

"I didn't do anything! All I said is that I wasn't going to fall in love and she ran off! It wasn't my fault!" Behind him, Kaede was putting two and two together, but it was Sango who sighed softly.

"I hate to say this and sound cliché, Souta, but you are such a boy." Kagome giggled softly as Sango spoke, and then sobered, realizing that it wasn't very polite to poor Rin. Inuyasha was giving them both strange looks. Kikyou looked conflicted and hovered halfway between Souta and Rin.

"Hey! I resent that! I was never that stupid when it came to that!" Yusuke proclaimed. Keiko snorted softly where she and Miroku stood.

Miroku shook his head and walked a few steps to put his hand on Souta's shoulder. "Souta, I'm very disappointed. Have I not tried to teach you well and respect a girl's feelings?"

"No, all you've ever taught me was what you thought the best way to _get_ a girl was," Souta said dryly, too frustrated to worry about how Miroku would fend off his offended girlfriend and all of the other girls for that matter. Instead he looked up at Yusuke, deciding he was the one to ask. "What's wrong with Rin?"

It was Kurama who answered, looking at Souta disapprovingly. "She has a crush on you."

"Rin? No she doesn't!" Souta denied automatically. His sisters gave him long, steady looks, as did most of the teenagers. Only Hiei appeared to be ignoring the by-play.

"She can't!" He said almost frantically.

Kagome sighed and shook her head, her long black hair blowing into her face as she did so. Annoyed, she brushed it back with one hand before turning back toward the vehicles. "Let's get going everyone. Botan, your plan is approved, but you need ground cover."

"That means you're going with her, Hiei," Yusuke added. Hiei raised one eyebrow slightly, but didn't make a sound, silently following Yusuke into one vehicle, and the girls all filing into the other. Miroku and Keiko glanced at each other ruefully at the tension in both vehicles and parted reluctantly.

/./

The forest was, as everyone had expected, full of trees. There were green trees and brown trees, and even a few that had been oddly colored by different atmosphere content. But ultimately, after the first few hundred yards of trees, Botan could see the forest slowly die as it reached the center. On her first trip up, she was quickly down again to report that fact.

Enthusiastically, she also reported that her oar worked fine. Everyone still looked worried and Botan shook her head. The oar was great. It felt nice to be in the air again. The rush of wind against her hair felt more solid than the wind against her spirit self and when she had dipped near the trees, she could actually feel those soft tips. It was even better than when she had been a grim reaper. She didn't mention that of course. She would end up taking them up for joy rides instead of scouting.

Before she left she glanced at where Shippo and Rin sat by their eggs. The eggs were large now, and Botan regretted the need to leave. The days it had taken to cross to the forest had done wonders on the two remaining Setrans. They would certainly hatch today, probably while she was scouting. "Take care of them, you two. They'll give you names, but probably not much else when they wake up."

"I know. It's too bad they can't be like Tairi and Elako were," Shippo said wistfully. Yusuke and Kagome gave obviously fake laughs and glanced at each other uneasily.

"Well, I suppose we have to go," Botan said to Hiei. He gave a short nod.

He paused seemingly mid thought and smirked. "Try to keep up, girl."

"Just remember to do the same," She answered, undaunted by the challenge as she situated the oar behind her and sat, grinning just a bit as she shot into the air, purposefully letting it flip over just for a couple of seconds just to hear them gasp - and long enough for her to hear Hiei's snarl of rage.

Startled, she righted herself in time to find him standing apparently weightlessly on top of a tree. He kept pace as she flew on, his red eyes glaring at her. "Don't do that again," was all he said, but the tone made Botan shrink back and she stared after him when he dropped back into the trees.

"That should be an interesting time," Yusuke remarked dryly. While they hadn't been able to hear what they said, even from there the body posture had been obvious. Hiei was angry. Or, angrier than usual. Hiei wasn't exactly ever _not_ angry.

"Oh yeah. About as fun as suffocating in miasma," Kagome muttered sarcastically. There were a few surprised glances at the bite in her remarks But Kagome was staring fixedly off into the forest and Yusuke wouldn't have been surprised if she started pacing. They hadn't actually had that meeting yet, and Yusuke was wondering if they would manage to have it before they attacked Naraku.

The rest of them were settling back to wait, Inuyasha and Kikyou taking Rin off to one side. Kagome stopped fidgeting long enough to watch them talk to the girl and a barrier spring up around Rin. Inuyasha tested it with one hand and opened his mouth to swear, only for Kikyou to cut him off.

"I wonder what those letters said," Kagome murmured.

"Probably death threats. Sesshoumaru is the only person who can send a formal letter full of death threats and make it seem normal," Yusuke answered, also staring at the group of three. Kikyou and Inuyasha had begun, hesitantly, to attack Rin's barrier. Rin didn't even flinch, and the barrier didn't ripple.

"I wonder sometimes how he met her," Kagome thought out loud. Her brother cleared his throat and both older teens jumped to stare at him.

"It's not a story you actually want to hear. Rin's life wasn't so good before Sesshoumaru found her. I know of his reputation, but believe me, even if all of it was true, he would more than make up for it in how he cares for Rin. It's amazing that she even managed to stay so innocent." Souta was staring off at the girl as well, his face troubled. If his words hadn't been so serious, Kagome would have taken the chance to tease him about her. But she couldn't do that now.

It occurred to her that the three children were every bit as tight as she and her team had been all through training. Perhaps even tighter. Kagome had never questioned her teammates, but weren't there things she didn't know of Botan? Had Kikyou not been keeping secrets from her? "Perhaps" could be turned into "definitely". Kagome envied them to some degree but at the same time she knew that it would tear them to bits if even one of them were hurt. And they hadn't the emotional training to handle it yet. Kaede probably could. She had been raised knowing what might happen. Perhaps Souta could. But Kagome was beginning to realize that Sesshoumaru was right to worry about Rin.

Then her eyes ticked toward the eggs off to one side and she considered the bond she had with Tairi. Wouldn't even she want to go ballistic if her friends were hurt? But Tairi... if the Setran could extract herself from Kagome's rage, she could perhaps hold her back from doing something stupid. Kagome wondered if that was the real reason they had been giving the eggs - as a means of a control. They could hold each other back - and if the teens did get too strong, well... if one of the Setrans could be caught, then wouldn't that be another way to make them do what they wanted?

Kagome knew she was being cynical, but the Council certainly hadn't given them as a free gift. She studied the two glowing eggs left over and sighed to herself. Now even Shippo and Rin had controls on them. At least Souta and Kaede were free from being beholden to two cracking, glowing, and definitely hatching eggs.

The miko cursed under her breath. "Shippo! Rin!" She called shrilly. Shippo glanced up and his eyes widened as he saw his egg glowing a similar color to his foxfire. He sprinted to it. Rin couldn't hear behind her barrier, and apparently Inuyasha and Kikyou were too caught up in testing her to hear either.

She strode over, her eyes narrowed. Kikyou noticed her approach with a puzzled glance and Kagome passed her by. "Inuyasha! Stop!"

"We're just testing the girl," Inuyasha argued, ready to continue. Kagome glanced back at the egg and was seized by a sense of urgency that probably had to do with the panicked thoughts that Elako and Tairi were sending haphazardly.

"No." Kagome said firmly, and pushed him away harder than she intended. He made a surprised cry and she pretended not to notice the way her hand had glowed. Rin was watching her from the barrier with surprised eyes and Kagome pointed toward the eggs and mouthed in an exaggerated fashion, 'The Egg'.

Rin's eyes widened appropriately and then the barrier vanished. She stumbled a few steps toward the egg before catching her balance and sprinting over. Shippo's glowed brighter as she approached and flashed suddenly. There was a cracking sound as the light vanished. They all squinted to see what had come out, but Rin had reached her egg now, and her light touch, still brimming with the power she had used for the barrier, sent out another flash of her green reiki.

This time when the light faded, Kagome was relieved to find that she could see both of them clearly. Tairi's presence had gone still in shock in the back of her mind. Kagome didn't see why. Shippo had his hands on the muzzle of a horse type of Setran, blue, but a brighter more intense blue than either Tairi or Elako.

She was surprised to see that Shippo's Setran had claws instead of hooves, but no fangs. It also had a horn on its head, but no wings. Kagome was secretly relieved that at least it didn't have all of them. That would have been a catastrophe. She found her voice and asked the kitsune, "What's his name?"

"_Her _name. She's a she. And it's Nashi. That's all she says, but I'm getting a lot of emotions from her," Shippo reported dutifully, knowing Kagome would only hound him if she didn't get the details now. Kagome smiled in satisfaction and felt that same thrill of shock from Tairi. Something did seem a bit off to Kagome, but it didn't seem dangerous, so she turned her attention to Rin.

Rin was running her hands through black and yellow feather of a phoenix. Its eyes were black, and gave Kagome chills because of that fact, but she tore her attention away, noting the hooked beak and the sharp talons. This one seemed fine too. Kagome lifted her head and sent a quizzical thought to Tairi. The Setran didn't answer.

"Name?" Kagome asked, deciding not to make any assumptions this time.

"His name is Xellkar. He loves me," Rin said, her face shining and her brown eyes drinking in the sight of her Setran. Kagome frowned a bit. She didn't remember that she had gotten that gushy over them.

_'You are more emotionally mature than them. And the bond strengthens as time goes on. Those two have unnaturally strong bonds already.' _Elako answered her unspoken thought. He was rubbing his horn against one sharp hoof in what Kagome could only describe as a thoughtful manner. Considering whom he was bonded to, she knew that he was thinking and reacting to his own thoughts and emotions. Yusuke didn't do thoughtful very often.

/./

"Poor little darling, they really don't know anything about Setrans," A female voice murmured. She sat in a chair, a pool of water in front of her, watching what was going on. She didn't even turn as she heard the steps behind her. "I know its cliché to look at them like this, don't even bother saying it."

The pointed ears clearly said she was a demon, though there was no clue as to her type. Her hair was black, and everyday and normal color, and her eyes were brown with only a hint of red in them. If one overlooked the ears, she could have come off as a human. Right now, she was having too much fun watching the little brats as they merrily went along and attempted to destroy Naraku.

"Personally, I hope they succeed," She muttered half to herself, knowing the other presence wouldn't say a thing. "He's an annoyance, and it will make it all the more fun if they're a bit stronger when I crush them."

Her eyes turned a bit feverish as she glared into the water again. "The girl will deliver that jewel right back to me. It was mine! I had it in my hand before it was even finished forming properly. I need it to finish off what I started. They all deserve to die, you know. Every human, and every demon that dares even think of being on their side. They'll all die. Well, maybe we'll keep a few around. Humans are such a delicacy."

Blue eyes stared at her, a mix of sadness and resolve. He glanced away, into the water. She was clearly insane now, but he had stuck by her this long, and he agreed with her in a way. He felt a bit scornful of the Council. They couldn't wait for the prophecy to be fulfilled, and had sent the children off the moment they were old enough to be away from their parents.

"They want both sides dead. Those children are dangerous too. They have the power to reform things the way they want," the demon said to his unspoken thought. She had been around him long enough to know what he was thinking. "They hope for both sides to cancel each other out. Oh, maybe there are still a few fools in the Council who think those babies will survive, but most of them know. Most of them want them dead."

She was raving. He looked away, and then turned to go. When she was in a proper frame of mind again, he would come back and speak to her.

/.../ -

Extreme bit of hints and foreshadowing here, but probably not hinting and foreshadowing at what you think. Review please.

Review responses:

Winged Knight: Yup, poor Elako. Though, he can only get up to a certain size. After that it channels into his own strength, and his coat color. He'll still definitely be big when he finally grows. Which won't be as long as one might think. And they will all be so lucky if they manage to get through Naraku's battles unscathed with the emotional stability they have.

YAHAHEHEHEHEHE: A lot of the other pairings are evolving, but it's in the background. They still have plenty of time, and none of them are really the rushing type. Right now, they do have other things to worry about than relationships. It's actually a bit selfish of Kagome and Yusuke, but everyone else will follow suit. I'm bad at rushing all of my pairings. I can usually only rush one or two at a time. The others are scuffing their feet. As for Inuyasha admitting things... Hmm, I didn't notice it. I suppose it just must be how I see him in this. Thanks for reviewing.

rubychik09: You actually have a few good theories. Some of them are far of the mark, some of them quite close. Technically, it means exactly what it says. But that verse may not be referring to her, or for that matter, not just to her, or even could have happened already. The Prophecy is tricky, and there are a lot of misinterpretations. I almost wish I could give away a few things here, but that would be mean and spoiling it. Anyway, I love your review and how you looked past what it was saying. Thank you very much, review any time.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

/.../ - 

Chapter 16 - "So, does anyone just know what the hell just happened?"

The sky of Mars was as red as Earth's had once been blue. It was odd and wrong and all Botan could do was stare at it as her hands slipped from her oar and another blast of wind separated her from her newly acquired transportation. Red eyes glared at her from above and below, and in Botan's mind, there was too much red to figure out which one she was supposed to be trusting.

Fire erupted from the ground, large and black and heading toward the laughing red-eyed face. It was a short burst, and Botan recognized it for the distraction it was when one hand shot out and caught her. Her instincts kicked in and her gun was out and shooting at the surprised flying demon even as the fire faded.

There was surprised and amused silence from behind her, and the slow simmering anger she was used to always being beneath the surface of her companion. She kept her eyes on the demon in the sky, who had one hand clutched to her right arm, looking surprised as it came away with blood. Botan felt a spark of vicious smugness.

"A lucky shot, I'm sure," The demon hissed, red eyes glaring at them. Red and pink eyes glared back at her. She seemed surprised at their audacity. "Why are you here? Don't you know what awaits in this woods?"

"Yes. Naraku," Botan said, letting all of her bitterness and hatred show. Then, under her breath she hissed, "You can put me on something solid now."

She waited a moment and then sighed. "You want another hand free, right?"

She breathed a sigh of relief when Hiei dropped her on the branch beneath him. Having nothing but air under her feet was unnerving without her oar. Then she raised her gun and pointed it at the demon in the sky. 

"You know Naraku's here and you still came? By yourselves? I suppose you must be a bit suicidal." She was staring at them now, and made no move to attack them with her fan again. Botan knew why. It was a deadlock. She couldn't attack them without being damaged herself, and she could do them quite a bit of damage herself.

"That is none of your business," Hiei snarled at the wind demon above them. She shrugged her shoulders and let her feather drift.

"Actually, it is. I am supposed to stop intruders." This seemed to remind her of something and she raised her fan again.

Desperate to get as much information out of the demoness as possible, Botan yelled up, "Why would you work for him? Why obey him?"

The silence after her statement lay heavy in the air. Hiei's fists were clenched and Botan could sense the building youki behind them. This time it was just behind one arm and Botan's memories flashed to when Kagome had been looking at the boy's profiles.

"I have no choice," the demon said finally, standing on her feather and raising the fan. "He has my heart."

"What if we could kill him? That would release you, right?" Hiei was glaring at her now, but Botan ignored the bloodthirsty demon above her. She was focused on the despairing demon in the sky.

"By yourselves? Impossible!" But she was staring at them, and an inkling of what seemed to be recognition showed in her eyes. Despite her words, she nodded once and made no move to attack.

Hiei had no such qualms against attack, and raised his hand, the bandages falling off as he did. He never got his chance to attack because a different kind of black dragon shot out from the sky and bowled over the demon with a screech of what sounded like laughter.

"What is this?" the wind demon shrieked, staring up at the feathered and furred dragon who was much too big and whose large teeth and claws were much too dangerous, especially when they were snapping at her. She tried to raise wind against it, and suddenly a claw snapped out and ripped her fan to shreds.

"Is that Dedran?" Botan asked finally as the demoness fled and the dragon came closer.

"Yes," Hiei said shortly. She risked a glance and winced at the rage in his eyes. The dragon hovered across from them and Botan took time to look him over. He seemed to have stolen a lot more energy. Being twenty feet long with an even longer tail and eight feet high at the shoulder, Botan fervently hoped he was done growing. He definitely wasn't going to fit in the hover cars anymore, even curled up like he had been the last time.

"Come here," Hiei commanded. The dragon snorted and attempted to land on a tree. His eyes widened in surprise when the branches wouldn't hold and indeed, when he didn't fit between them. The dragon whined slightly.

"Dedran," He commanded again. The dragon hissed at him stubbornly and dove between the trees awkwardly.

"I wonder how he followed us," Botan managed as the dragon sniffed at something on the ground.

"He should obey me," Hiei snarled, ignoring the question and the obvious answer of the mind links.

"Why? Botan asked evenly.

Hiei glared at her. She stared back him, trying to keep calm and not be upset. No one should automatically assume that anyone else should obey them. It was all about free will.

"He's mine," Hiei explained grudgingly.

"You're also _his_," Botan pointed out reasonably, almost afraid that the fire that she knew was still brimming behind his eyes would be turned on her. Then Dedran was up again, flying awkwardly through the trees with a familiar piece of wood clutched gently in one claw.

Botan gasped and almost fell out of the tree as she reached for it. Hiei glared and reached out to grab the back of her shirt. She didn't even appear to notice. The human girl was too busy reaching forward and laying her hands on the oar. Dedran hummed gleefully at the joy in her voice as she thanked him. "Oh, I didn't even see where it landed. Thank you Dedran!" Then, slyly, she said, "You're a _good _dragon. The very best."

All she heard was the hum turning into a rumble that sounded almost like a growl but was more like laughter. Dedran's red eyes glanced up to Hiei slyly. _'She likes me. I got her oar. I'm nice to her.'_

'I care why?' He asked sarcastically, being silent out loud as he let go of the girl and she stared at the oar. Dedran laughed out loud and in his mind and with a suddenness that surprised both of the humanoids, he flipped his head down and under Botan's branch. The tree shook as his shoulder bumped it and Botan yelped as she lost her balance and fell onto the waiting neck.

_'You're supposed to return now. You've been out her for hours. The others were getting a bit worried. I see you found the beginning of where it is at least.'_ The dragon was swift to maneuver his way up through the trees and away from his angry bonded. Despite that it was a life bond, Dedran didn't put it past Hiei to attempt to kill him out of spite.

"We're going back," Hiei said to Botan, a bit smugly as he had managed to get ahead of the dragon to say it. Then, "Stay on him. The oar is easier to be blown out of the sky.

_'Of course it is.' _Dedran grumbled but already he was gaining altitude and stretching his wings to sail over the land. Hiei dropped back to the ground and ran beneath them. Botan hadn't heard a word that Dedran had said to Hiei but by the look in their eyes while they had been talking, Dedran was no longer the subservient little beast he had been when he was born.

The dragon wondered briefly about the wind demon he had separated them from. There was something strange about her, and the energy he had stolen from her. She smelled... like there were pieces of her missing. It was strange. He wondered if he should ask Tairi or Elako about it. Then his eyes spotted the campsite and he threw it out of his mind. They wouldn't know anything about it anyway.

Botan laughed out loud when the black and red wings folded up and the dragon dove toward the dragon. She already knew that this was going to give everyone heart attacks. She didn't really care right now. The rush of air around her as her hands fisted into the long fur of Dedran's neck was amazing. She felt a bit disappointed when his wings opened and they were suddenly still as he took two sweeps of his wings to land a bit ungracefully on the ground. "Amazing," she murmured to him before he folded his legs underneath him to let her off.

She slipped off with oar in hand and could feel the stares from her friends. She grinned up at with eyes bright with the joy of flight. The dragon behind her rumbled with laughter and she glanced backward to see Hiei standing there with his arms crossed and glaring at the dragon.

_'What are they talking about?'_ Botan asked Ketria. The wingless dragon glanced up.

_'I can only hear Dedran's half, and only because he's letting me. I think Hiei is scolding him about that. Dedran seems rather apologetic.' _Ketria paused, tilting her pink-scaled head. _'He's grown up.'_

'So have you,' Botan pointed out reasonably before risking a glance at her friends. Kagome's lips were pursed and her eyes were dancing as she glanced between Botan, Hiei, and Dedran. She was obviously trying not to laugh. Sango simply looked speculatively at her own silver and gold gryphon, who was looking right back. Kikyou was thoroughly disapproving from the thin line of her lips to her narrowed eyes.

"That was awesome!" Souta was the first to speak, and his eyes were wide as he looked up at the dragon. "Was it fun?"

"Yes," Botan answered simply.

"Will he take anyone else?" Souta asked hopefully.

"No." Hiei glared at everyone, especially Botan and Dedran, and the dragon simply yawned and curled up in a ball. While he still looked huge, he looked much smaller than before.

_'Flying is overrated,' _Ketria murmured into Botan's mind. Botan smiled at her soothingly, feeling the worry that seeped into her awareness.

_'It's fun, but you're still my dragon.'_ Ketria seemed content with that.

"So why did we have to come back?" Botan asked out loud. Then she took another good look around. "And why does it seem that Dedran isn't the only one to have reached full growth?"

"There was an attack while you were gone. We sent Dedran out to get you before you were captured. It appears Naraku knows we're here, so scouting is probably a bad idea," Kagome answered.

"We did get close," Botan offered up as a feeble protest, but her heart wasn't in it. She crossed over to the rest of them and took a seat on a nearby stump, the oar lying across her lap. "Though there was a wind user there..."

Botan frowned as something stirred in her mind. **_'A sickle through the air caught by the wind.'_ **She heard, a melodic male voice intoning it. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. She had before only know things that had to do with the Prophecy and known the public lines. A true line hadn't simply appeared in her mind before.

"Botan?" Kagome asked, worry in her voice. Everyone was staring at her. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Sorry. I'm fine," Botan said, smiling weakly. The girls frowned at her and Inuyasha snorted but she shook her head and kept her mouth shut. There were red eyes on her again and she kept her face looking away from his.

_'Hiei knows there's something wrong. They all do, but he knows it has something to do with the wind user, outside of what happened on scouting. Dedran says you should tell him,. Neither of them knows what happened. Are you going to? Tell them about... the line?'_ Ketria was staring at her with pink eyes and Botan shook her head slightly.

There was suddenly a strange tightness in the air and Rin's Xellkar and Shippo's Nashi got to their feet, both bristling. A moment later the other Setrans followed. Botan cried out in shock as a voice echoed across the clearing in a language she hadn't heard for centuries. Words of power that chilled her to the bone. _'Spirit Guide'_ the voice said as it clawed into her mind, echoing in her mind and the Setrans. The others could hear but didn't understand. Memories were taken and ripped a part and the voice echoed again in that language, leaving behind only those parts of her that remember her other life. Desperately she flung her awareness toward Ketria - who was dealing with an attack of her own.

"Botan?" A girl asked and Botan's memory raced to try and remember whom it was. There was some cursing and a lot of panic around her and then a hand gripped her chin hard and she was forced to look into red eyes - and one purple one as a bandana was ripped away.

"Out," Hiei commanded and there was a moment of shock before the presence retreated quickly. As it left, she could feel the clear amusement and she suddenly saw clearly the way to Naraku. Then everything went dark.

"So, does anyone just know what the hell just happened?" Yusuke asked, crouching down by the unconscious form of Elako. His eyes were narrowed and his muscles were tensed and there was a faint shimmer of blue reiki around him that made him look particularly dangerous. Eight of the ten Setrans were unconscious along with Botan.

Kagome, though she had Tairi's head in her lap, was staring at Nashi and Xellkar, both of which appeared none the worse for their own ordeal. Out of no where, the ten Setrans and Botan had started reacting, screaming, growling, shrieking, and Botan had just curled up with a cry of surprise and shock. But after a few seconds, Nashi and Xellkar had both begun glowing, ice and lightning crackling around them.

_'It was an invitation,'_ Kagome heard an unfamiliar female voice think clearly, and Nashi's blue eyes stared into hers.

"Did everyone else just hear that?" Inuyasha asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes," Kurama answered, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Xellkar and Nashi. Shippo and Rin, sensing the suspicion, crowded in closer to their Setrans and glared at the others.

_'We're special. Don't worry about it. We... feel emotions a bit better that's all. There are disadvantages. But we were needed. Shippo and Rin are young and we'll grow up before they. We're no more powerful than Tairi is or Elako will be, really. Our power is just different.' _Xellkar's eerie black eyes stared at them and Sango cleared her throat.

"I'm going to regret this... But what did you mean by an invitation?"

_'That was Naraku, using an old language and power words - it won't work again, don't worry. At the end, he imprinted a way for us to get to him - a trap of course, but he wasn't lying. We'd be able to tell,'_ Nashi informed them, and Kagome shivered. That they could at any time tell if they were lying or not didn't sound fun.

"So wherever he said we're to go - he really is there?" There was a bit of excitement in Yusuke's tone and Kagome saw Kikyou grimace.

"Did you forget the word 'trap' in there?" Miroku asked nervously.

"Traps were meant to be sprung. As long as we know its there, we're up for it," Kaede said confidently. A few black looks headed her way, but she stood up straighter when Yusuke grinned at her.

"Unless that's what he wants us to think," Souta challenged, but with an easy grin.

"Oh you know we're going," Rin scoffed, and everyone turned toward her. "What choice do we have? Once the Setrans are up to it, we're walking right into it. Naraku knows it, we know it. But he can't know how powerful we are. We'll make."

"Yeah," Keiko said nervously. "What could _possibly _go wrong?"

"I hate you," Inuyasha said darkly as he freed Keiko from the embrace of a deadly tree with his claws. "Did you really have to go and say it? Even like that, ya know fate's just goin' to come and bite us in the ass."

"Don't blame her then, blame fate," Naraku said as he slipped around them to put a ward on the tree. Immediately the tree froze and became inert. "We're almost there, anyway."

_'Easy for him to say. You have no idea how hard it is to fly up here. Well, for most of us. Those of us who don't enjoy lightning strikes,' _Zasar complained darkly and Inuyasha squinted, his golden eyes narrowing as he saw his white and black phoenix flapping about in the storm cloud.

_'See anything?' _He asked.

_'No. Better to ask Elako or Xellkar. Elako doesn't mind the storm and Xellkar's... Well, he's Xellkar, isn't he.' _Zasar's mental voice sounded pleased that Xellkar was with them.

_'Why do all of you except Tairi seemed pleased with them?'_ Inuyasha asked curiously. It was clear by the horse-like Setrans body language that she did not like the two youngsters.

_'She's giving up a place to them. Until now she and Elako have been the undisputed leaders. Now that's only partly true. While they're leaders now, and may always be of us eight, when there are more Setrans again, she and Elako will always be second to Nashi and Xellkar.' _Zasar replied, oddly without his usual snark and insults.

_'I don't get it.'_ Inuyasha grumbled.

_'Naturally not. You're not a Setran,'_ Xellkar interrupted and Zasar's laughter echoed with Xellkar's in his mind. Inuyasha snarled skyward and then turned around at a cough. He glared at the smirking pair standing there.

"Shouldn't you two be helping the others?" He asked pointedly.

"Nope. Everyone's waiting for you now, Inuyasha," Yusuke said with a smirk.

"Go to hell," He mumbled as they both continued grinning at him, Kagome holding a hand up to her mouth and trying to pretend she was coughing. He strutted past them, holding his chin up and his arms crossed. They followed silently behind him and he noted the blue shape weaving in the trees. Tairi was there, and it definitely seemed she, like the others, was full grown now. Well, everyone except Elako, Xellkar, and Nashi.

He had the surprise of his life when he saw the rubble that must have once been a doorway and all of the Setrans now gathered, waiting. "What the hell is that?"

"The door was too small," Hiei explained shortly and Inuyasha almost objected before he actually looked at it and began to laugh.

"Dedran or Ketria?" He asked with a smirk at the glaring Hiei and the blushing Botan.

"Both," Kikyou replied, smiling slightly.

"Now they know we're here," Kaede said with a frown.

"They?" Rin asked, and her eyes ticked to Kaede's a bit sharply.

"Well, we know that besides Naraku, there's the other one, the wind demon, right? He might also have others that are working under him in the castle. I mean, most of his lower class demons are attacking our armies in space or on land, but he could have some higher level ones here, waiting for us," Souta said, and Kagome watched the three intently. For a moment a sad smile settled on her face and then disappeared. She had not time for this. They were just growing up so fast, and she couldn't stop it.

Kagome opened her mouth to say something and then stopped when Tairi nudged her. She looked back quizzically. Tairi's blue eyes stared into hers. _'Get on.'_

Feeling like she was enduring some ritual, she slowly got onto the Setran. She had ridden a horse before, and other creatures, most of them had for training, but she wasn't very good at it. To her amazement she found that she didn't have to do much balance at all.

_'Later we'll have to make me a proper saddle. You probably won't be able to fight and ride at the same time without one just yet. But if there are any traps - not ambushes but real traps, we'll be better equipped to handle them this way,' _Tairi explained quietly. Kurama was also now riding Sako and Botan was on top of Ketria. It would be a tight fit for the large dragon and Kagome hoped the building - it wasn't really a caste, just something very large and old - was big enough for the land dragon.

"Let's go," Yusuke said when it seemed that all the arrangements had been made. he carefully didn't look at Elako and Elako avoided his gaze.

As everyone else started forward warily, Rin dropped back between Kaede and Souta and glanced at Kaede. "Well?"

Kaede looked at her solemnly. "Can't you sense it?"

Souta sighed and he looked up at them with troubled eyes. "I wish he wasn't here. That we were wrong." He paused and then whispered, "Do you think Dad knew?"

"No," Rin said with a slight frown. "Because if he did, Sesshoumaru-sama would have known as well and he wouldn't have let me come. They don't know."

Kaede looked forward to the female taijya who had just ducked under poisoned arrows that spat from the wall. "Neither does she."

"Right then." Souta gripped his staff and kept his mind calm. There was no conversation for a minute as they dodged traps and then Souta looked out at Rin from the corner of his eye. "Are you ready?"

"I am if you are. They're all going to be real mad at us though." Rin's eyes fell to the floor and she bit her lip. Then her ears heard the faint tick and all three of them jumped forward as the floor caved in behind them. "Wonder how the others missed that."

"Who knows?" Souta asked carelessly, and then said softly, "We're almost there. Can you feel it?"

"I can," Kaede whispered as the doors opened and then looked at Rin, whose eyes seemed unfocussed. Souta moved closer to her protectively, his eyes scanning the darkness along with everyone else. Only Shippo seemed to notice that they were slightly off to the side from the rest but he appeared to be keeping it to himself.

"Rin? You're probably going to have to do most of the work here. I'm his best friend and Kaede's his... whatever, but you're the only one of us who we all trust no matter what." Souta took a deep breath and took his eyes off the darkness in front of them for a moment to look her squarely in the eyes. "Are you _sure _you can do this?"

"Yes," Rin answered, and her eyes and hands flashed as something flashed out of the darkness. The sickle hit the newly erected barrier and fell to the floor with loud, sharp, clang of finality.

Laughter echoed from the darkness as shapes stepped out from behind them and to their sides. Three stepped in front of them. One was the wind sorceress, her red eyes looking at them impassively and with a faint sneer. Naraku hung behind them, well out of attack range. And next to the wind sorceress was a boy, perhaps at most fifteen years old. With a jerk of his hand the sickle was pulled back, the chain held loosely around one hand. He gazed at them out of sad brown eyes and his black hair was pulled up behind his head. An inarticulate cry tore from Sango's throat.

"Kohaku," Kaede said and the hurt within heart was bared to the world for everyone to see at her choked voice.

"Kaede," There was pain there, and determination. "You shouldn't have come."

"Not as easy as you thought it would be, is it little soldiers?" Naraku said, directing his comments toward the older teenagers.

The doors slammed shut behind them.

/Ö/

All right, all reviews will now be answered with the reply feature, unless of course you aren't registered or don't leave an e-mail, in which case I'll leave a line of thank yous. After this chapter. This chapter will not have thank yous, but then again I directly replied to a few of you.


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